SCOTLAND

Asylum: Glasgow

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what  (a) discussions and  (b) correspondence he has had with (i) the Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency and (ii) the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the termination of the contract for accommodation and other services between the UK Border Agency and Glasgow city council.

Michael Moore: I am in regular contact with Home Office Ministers on matters related to immigration and asylum. Senior officials in the Scotland Office have regular discussions with the UK Border Agency's director for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Asylum: Glasgow

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with  (a) Glasgow city council,  (b) the Scottish Executive and  (c) the Scottish Refugee Council on the termination of the contract for accommodation and other services between the UK Border Agency and Glasgow city council; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Moore: My officials have been kept informed of the negotiations between UK Border Agency (UKBA) and Glasgow city council which led to the recent termination of the contract to provide accommodation services. The UKBA informed officials in the Scottish Government and the Scottish Refugee Council of the likelihood of termination and of the final decision to terminate the contract prior to the formal termination letter being issued to Glasgow city council on 5 November 2010. I understand that the UKBA is working with support organisations in Glasgow to ensure individuals and families will be transferred to their new accommodation with minimum disruption.

British Waterways Board: Assets

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  what discussions on what occasions he has had with  (a) the Scottish Executive,  (b) the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities,  (c) civic organisations in Scotland and  (d) the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the future of British Waterways assets in Scotland;
	(2)  when he last met representatives of British Waterways Scotland to discuss the future of British Waterways assets in Scotland.

Michael Moore: Scottish assets will continue to be managed by British Waterways Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Executive. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will be discussing with the Scottish Executive and British Waterways other issues relating to assets, and if the hon. Member wishes to make her own representations, I would be happy to receive them.

Scottish Television

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what  (a) discussions and  (b) correspondence he had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport prior to the Government's decision not to accept the recommendation by Ofcom that Scottish Television should be classified as a qualified independent producer.

Michael Moore: I am in regular contact with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on a range of matters important to Scotland. The decision not to reclassify Scottish Television as an independent producer for BBC commissions was taken following a wide-ranging consultation. The Government's approach will ensure a fair chance for small and independent production companies in Scotland.

Voluntary Organisations

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which voluntary organisations in Scotland he has met to discuss the effect of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review; and on what dates.

Michael Moore: This Government have inherited the largest peacetime deficit in our history. The comprehensive spending review sets out how the Government will carry out Britain's unavoidable deficit reduction plan.
	I am in regular contact with a range of stakeholders on matters concerning aspects of deficit reduction. As was the case under the previous Administration, it is not the Government's practice to divulge Ministers' diary schedules.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Lobbying

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent from the public purse on influencing public policy through  (a) employing external (i) public affairs companies, (ii) strategic consultancies and (iii) corporate communications firms,  (b) external marketing and  (c) other activities in each of the last 10 years.

Owen Paterson: Information on expenditure by the Department's non-departmental public body and ALBs is a matter for each respective organisation, who operate independently of Government. The Northern Ireland Office does not have any agencies. The hon. Member may wish to write to each organisation.
	All expenditure incurred by non-departmental public bodies and ALBs must be in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the HM Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Immigration: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the effects of implementation of the proposed immigration cap on the academic and research community in Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson: None. However, I would be happy to consider doing so if requested by Northern Ireland Ministers or other interested parties.

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in each of the last 10 years.

Owen Paterson: The Department has not used the services of the Institute for Fiscal Studies in any of the past 10 years.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Compost

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to support the development of in-vessel composting for the recycling of organic material; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Composting is a vital tool for reducing the amount of biodegradable waste which goes to landfill, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
	Composting is a key component of many local authorities' waste strategies. However, the choice of how to manage organic waste-through windrow composting, in-vessel composting or other technologies-must reflect local circumstances, which will vary. It is important that any plans for waste management facilities emerge out of local waste strategies.

Departmental Energy

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department's Sustainability Unit has made of the adequacy of the energy efficiency standards of the research laboratories operated by and on behalf of her Department.

Richard Benyon: Many of DEFRA's research laboratories are licensed to hold or work with category 3 and category 4 pathogens. The capability to contain these pathogens requires significant energy input to ensure the building complies to HSE regulations.
	DEFRA proactively manages the energy use within its laboratory buildings through a process of monitoring, analysing and benchmarking data from Smart meters to identify excessive or spurious patterns of use. This is then investigated and remedial action taken where appropriate.
	During winter 2009 DEFRA carried out in depth energy and water surveys of all of its laboratory sites. These surveys identified good and bad practice and made recommendations to improve both the energy and water consumption performance of the buildings. These recommendations were incorporated into the Department's long-term carbon and energy reduction plan.
	This proactive approach to energy management has enabled DEFRA to reduce energy consumption on its estate from 170m kWh in 2006 to 134m kWh in 2010, an average saving of 5% per year.
	Sustainability is an essential consideration in the design process of all DEFRA's laboratory facilities and remains a high priority through the development and build process. The most recently built laboratories on DEFRA's estate adopted sustainability measures to reduce the impact of high energy use and have rated from BREEAM Good to BREEAM Very Good.
	In 2010 one of DEFRA's laboratories achieved the rating of 37.5 winning the certification of BREEAM Very Good with a commendation for exemplary management of carbon emissions from the site.

Food: Labelling

Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance her Department issues to supermarkets on the handling and sale of halal meat.

James Paice: holding answer 11 November 2010
	 I am discussing with the food industry whether labelling and point of sale information can play a greater role in giving consumers a choice. However, DEFRA has not issued any guidance to supermarkets on the handling and sale of halal meat.

Hunting

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to bring forward a motion on a free vote enabling the House to express its views on the repeal of the Hunting Act 2004; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The Government remain committed to bringing forward a motion on the Hunting Act, and will do so at the earliest convenient opportunity.

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in each of the last 10 years.

Richard Benyon: The Department was not formed until 2001 and data before that year are not held. The following table shows the total spent with the Institute for Fiscal Studies by the department, including its executive agencies.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2001-02 - 
			 2002-03 - 
			 2003-04 2,643.75 
			 2004-05 3,389.88 
			 2005-06 1,321.88 
			 2006-07 - 
			 2007-08 - 
			 2008-09 - 
			 2009-10 -

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds: Finance

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the monetary value of payments by her Department to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was in each of the last five years; and in respect of which projects the payments were made.

Richard Benyon: The payments made by the Department, which include executive agencies, to the RSPB in each of the last five years are shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  DEFRA 
			  Project  £ 
			  2005-06  
			 (1)- 903,950.93 
			   
			  2006-07  
			 Environmental Stewardship agreements 255,425.56 
			 Restore or recreate wetland habitats. 6,000.00 
			 SSSI Project 55,754.00 
			 Reverse the decline in the number of farmland birds 79,500.00 
			 Priorities, targets and plans for halting biodiversity loss 95,039.55 
			 Statutory duties to protect and recover endangered species 478,232.00 
			 Facilities and services at national nature reserves 9,500.00 
			 To create new habitats and enhance the landscape 35,087.65 
			 Common agricultural policy reform implementation 5,000.00 
			 Darwin initiative 406,359.23 
			 Environmental Stewardship R and D 79,680.96 
			 ERDP team-north 141.00 
			 ERDP team-south 141.00 
			 Farmland conservation 185,417.23 
			 Marine core 28.50 
			 Organisation support costs 10,014.10 
			 Promotion of sustainable development 42,000.00 
			 R and D Marine Programme 23,932.86 
			 RSPB's ISB Round 7FM project 71,508.76 
			 SCP and waste programme evidence 30,460.00 
			 Sustainable livestock farming 2,791.55 
			 Wildlife and countryside publicity 423.00 
			 Wildlife habitats and biodiversity 175.94 
			  1,872,612.89 
			  2007-08  
			 Projects on integrated wildlife/landscape/access. 2,964.43 
			 Advice to DEFRA on priority and delivery of revised UK BAP targets. 81,900.30 
			 Review and confirm funding of partnerships and advice 42,664.51 
			 Support the recovery of priority species through research, 224,971.00 
			 To tackle the threat to our biodiversity... 2,500.00 
			 Mitigate effects of aggregate extraction on biodiversity, geology and landscape 122,365.94 
			 Efficient ongoing management of NNR series. 20,783.40 
			 SSSI projects 28,544.51 
			 Achievement of other SSSI remedies 7,500.00 
			 Maintain six year cycle of condition assessments on SSSIs 141,310.00 
			 Decline in farmland birds and remedial measures. 62,012.00 
			 NNR service standards. 10,000.00 
			 Measures introduced by part one of the CROW Act 36,423.00 
			 Interim Environmental Stewardship uptake targets. 77,294.00 
			 Co-ordinated programmes of funded advice 733.61 
			 Identify and co-ordinate existing and future business partner 5,125.00 
			 50 year vision for water and wetlands 5,000.00 
			 Communications strategy 2,000.00 
			 Darwin initiative 444,929.93 
			 England biodiversity strategy 10,000.00 
			 Environmental Stewardship R and D 65,651.84 
			 Habitat monitoring 4,697.42 
			 Organisation support costs 154,327.14 
			 Pesticides 18,442.00 
			 Promotion of sustainable development 72,000.00 
			 RSPB's ISB Round 7FM project 43,421.79 
			 SCP and waste programme evidence 10,490.00 
			 Waste statistical evidence 52,702.00 
			 Wildlife and countryside publicity 400.00 
			  1,851,359.45 
			  2008-09  
			 Advice to DEFRA on priority and delivery of revised UK BAP targets. 24,099.70 
			 SSSIs projects 2,475.00 
			 Deliver and evaluate the London programme 16,178.50 
			 Exemplary quality green space in place 33,258.00 
			 AI preparedness 128,747.10 
			 Axis II policy 172.50 
			 Biodiversity forum 37,339.00 
			 Biodiversity priority habitats 120,000.00 
			 Biodiversity priority habitats and species 95,370.61 
			 Biodiversity priority species 906,767.00 
			 Champion for the natural environment 805.00 
			 Clear integrated vision for environment and land use strategy 10,000.00 
			 Coastal projects 4,000.00 
			 Darwin initiative 381,558.80 
			 Environmental behaviours policy 6,093.00 
			 Environmental Stewardship R and D 277,544.16 
			 Habitat monitoring 9,626.81 
			 International sustainable development 8,000.00 
			 Key arable farmland bird options 13,527.97 
			 Land Management Advisory Service 2,740.25 
			 LBAPs and Secretariat support 132,475.68 
			 Marine environment research programme 110.00 
			 Municipal waste and culture change 854.00 
			 NNR buildings and maintenance and repair 1,793.79 
			 NNR land and buildings leases, rents and nature reserve agreements 17,397.63 
			 NNR visitor access improvements (destination and all other NNRs) 10,000.00 
			 Organisation support costs 386,375.82 
			 RSPB's ISB Round 7FM project 54,299.91 
			 SCP and waste programme evidence 58,239.00 
			 SDC programme-internal 90.00 
			 SSSI partnership projects to maintain and gain condition 49,047.50 
			 SSSI WES and RES agreements to maintain and gain condition 12,706.94 
			 Targeting for tactical plans 1,000.00 
			 Wildlife and countryside publicity 449.44 
			  3,066,201.20 
			  2009-10  
			 AI preparedness 133,135.43 
			 Darwin initiative 314,274.48 
			 Ecosystems approach project 529.00 
			 Environmental Stewardship R and D 175,622.08 
			 Habitat monitoring 2,391.13 
			 SCP and waste programme evidence 40,949.00 
			 Strategic relationship management: third sector strategy 1,200.00 
			 WAC corporate support 4,415.92 
			 Wildlife and countryside publicity 919.87 
			  673,436.91 
			 (1)- Data on projects for 2005-06 are not held. 
		
	
	
		
			  CEFAS: 2007-08 
			  Project  £ 
			 Purchase of photographic images 187.41

Sewers: Private Sector

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with Ministerial colleagues on the likely effects on  (a) water companies,  (b) pump companies and  (c) sub-contractors of the proposed transfer of private drains and sewers to private sewerage companies.

Richard Benyon: Policy proposals and the draft regulations for consultation have been agreed with ministerial colleagues at all relevant stages of the Review.
	DEFRA officials have been working closely with a steering group including representatives of a number of other Government Departments throughout the Review of Private Sewers and continue to do so. Officials have also met regularly with their counterparts from across Government to discuss the implications of the proposed transfer for all stakeholders.

Sustainable Development

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions  (a) she and  (b) senior representatives of her Department have had with PricewaterhouseCoopers on implementation of sustainable development plans.

Richard Benyon: Neither I nor any of my ministerial colleagues have had any recent discussions with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Although some senior DEFRA officials have met recently with PricewaterhouseCoopers, sustainable development plans were not discussed.

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to implement obligations under Article 11 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities regarding humanitarian emergencies in relation to her Department's policy responsibilities.

Richard Benyon: It is the responsibility of local responders, including the fire brigade and the police service, to ensure that in accordance with the requirements of article 11, appropriate provision for the protection and safety of persons with disabilities is in place during situations of risk arising from emergencies.
	To assist responders with this, a range of key government publications relating to the UK's response to emergencies include advice and guidance on humanitarian assistance for those groups that require support, such as children, young and elderly people and those with disabilities.

Water Supply: Subsidies

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance she has issued to Ofwat on the effect of Exchequer rules on levy-funded subsidies on the proposals in the Walker Review in respect of charging and metering for water and sewerage services.

Richard Benyon: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has not issued guidance to Ofwat on the effect of Exchequer rules on levy-funded subsidies on proposals in the Walker Review. Policy on such subsidies is the responsibility of HM Treasury.

Water: Prices

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to issue guidance on social tariffs under section 44 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

Richard Benyon: We will consult on draft guidance on company social tariffs under Section 44 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 following publication of the Water White Paper early next summer. We will invite views later this year on the scope and content of this guidance as part of our consultation on the recommendations made in the Walker Review.

Water: Prices

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the remit is of Ofwat's assessment of the recommendations of the Walker Review of charging and metering for water and sewerage services.

Richard Benyon: The Walker Review made a number of recommendations to Ofwat. Ofwat is taking these forward, including the recommendation that it should advise the Government on options for addressing high water bills in the South West.
	The Walker Review also made recommendations to the Government. Ofwat is advising the Government on these in its capacity as the independent economic regulator for the water sector.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were built in Dartford constituency in the last five years.

Andrew Stunell: The available information which is for Dartford local authority is provided in the following table.
	Not all affordable housing is provided through new-build completions as supply can also come from the acquisition and refurbishment of private sector homes. In 2009-10, for example, a total (i.e. new build, acquisition and refurbishment) of 200 affordable homes were provided in Dartford.
	
		
			  Additional new-build affordable homes delivered: Dartford local authority 
			   Number 
			 2005-06 30 
			 2006-07 100 
			 2007-08 210 
			 2008-09 160 
			 2009-10 150 
			  Note: Data are rounded to nearest 10 homes.  Source: Homes and Communities Agency; local authorities.

EADS

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey) of 2 November 2010,  Official Report, column 669W, on the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company: contracts, what steps he is taking to ensure that EADS will meet its contractual obligations.

Bob Neill: In June this year we activated a key milestone in our contract with the main contractor, EADS (now branded Cassidian), for delivery of the FiReControl project. This required EADS to complete the main system in three control centres by mid-2011.
	Because their record has not improved on delivery of the project, we informed EADS on 8 November that we consider them to be in material breach of their obligations under the contract and required them to remedy the position in 20 working days.
	I have made it clear to EADS that they must deliver to time, cost and quality. The Government are not going to bail out this contractor with additional public funding. We are going to stand up for the interests of the taxpayer and the fire and rescue service.

Fire Services: East of England

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the running costs of the Eastern Region Fire Control Centre were in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bob Neill: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) on 18 October 2010,  Official Report, column 505W.

Fire Services: Radiation Exposure

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) national and  (b) local agreements there are in relation to the radiation dose uptake limitation system adopted by each Fire and Rescue Service when attending a radiation emergency at each of the nuclear powered submarine operational berths maintained by the Ministry of Defence as required by Regulation 14 of the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001.

Bob Neill: The Ionising Radiation Regulations (IRR) 1999 state that the maximum annual dose to all radiation workers (including firefighters attending a radiation incident) is 20 milliSieverts (mSv). There is an additional limit on women of reproductive capacity of 13 milliSieverts in any three month period.
	Under the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (REPPIR) 2001 regulations it is permissible to set aside the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999 dose limits at a licensed nuclear site or at an incident involving transport by rail if in doing so it might be possible to save life or maintain critical infrastructure. In this case it is permissible for an informed volunteer to be exposed to a dose of up to 100 milliSieverts.
	There is no specific national agreement in regard to radiation doses for firefighters but there are the national standards as outlined above. Information on local agreements (or emergency plans as stated in regulation 14 of the REPPIR) concerning radiation doses is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, under both the REPPIR and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, it is the responsibility of the individual fire and rescue authority, as the employer, to put in place systems to ensure that employees are protected from excessive exposure to radiation.

Housing Revenue Accounts

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to conclude his Department's review of the working of local authority housing revenue accounts; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: On 5 October my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Housing and Local Government (Grant Shapps) stated that the present system of council housing finance was no longer fit for purpose and announced his intention to replace it with a system of self-financing through the Localism Bill. The spending review reaffirmed this commitment and stated that a key role for DCLG will be
	"reforming the council housing finance system so local authorities have greater control over their own finances, and can reinvest to meet local housing need".
	We will publish further details on the self-financing settlement shortly.

Business Rates

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to increase the support his Department provides to small and medium-sized businesses in respect of business rates.

Bob Neill: We are already providing additional support by doubling the level of small business rate relief for one year, starting from last month. That will benefit approximately half a million ratepayers. We are also committed to introducing a practical way to make small business rate relief automatic.

Public Lavatories: Standards

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of people who require toilets to a standard equivalent to Changing Places toilets; what steps his Department has taken to increase the provision of Changing Places toilets in the last 12 months; what assessment he has made of the typical quality of such facilities; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: I initiated a review over the summer to consider options for changes to the Building Regulations in 2013 including Part M (Access to and use of buildings); to identify what may be needed in ensuring they continue to operate effectively and to deliver ever better levels of compliance in the future.
	During the review DCLG have received evidence from MENCAP and the Changing Places Campaign which suggest that up to 230,000 people could benefit from improved provision of Changing Places facilities.
	Local authorities have powers to provide public toilets in their area and are well placed to decide on the provision of local services and amenities in consultation with their residents and communities.

Regional Planning and Development

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost to the public purse was of the production of regional spatial strategies  (a) nationally,  (b) in each region and  (c) in each local authority in the period between 2005 and 2010.

Greg Clark: The following table illustrates the grants given to regional planning bodies since 2005, to produce regional strategies.
	
		
			  Costs from 2005-10 
			   £ 
			 North West 12,297,886 
			 North East 5,082,942 
			 York and Humberside 9,742,955 
			 East Midlands 7,540,376 
			 West Midlands 11,064,420 
			 East of England 10,906,348 
			 South East 14,483,696 
			 South West 9,686,542 
			 Total 80,805,166 
		
	
	These figures exclude the cost to local taxpayers of their payments to the regional planning bodies by the local authorities.
	No data are held on the substantial costs incurred by local authorities in the production of regional strategies.

Social Rented Housing: Ealing

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the  (a) average annual income of a household in social housing and  (b) number of households in social housing in Ealing, Southall constituency with an income classified as below the poverty line in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Stunell: Information on the average annual income of a household in social housing is not available at constituency level.
	Information on the number of households in social housing with an income below the poverty line is also not available at constituency level.

Social Services: Expenditure

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much each local authority spent on adult social care in each of the last three years.

Bob Neill: I have today placed in the Library of the House a table that gives, by each local authority in England, the net current expenditure for adult social care for the financial years 2006-07 to 2008-09.
	Figures for 2009-10 will be published on 25 November 2010.

Working Neighbourhoods Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what equality impact assessment he has undertaken of the closure of the Working Neighbourhoods Fund.

Bob Neill: In line with our equalities duties, an equality impact assessment into the end of funding for the Working Neighbourhoods Fund has been completed by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	This assessment will be published in due course.

JUSTICE

Corston Report

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has for the future funding of projects arising from the recommendations of the Corston Report on women with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system.

Crispin Blunt: Funding for the Women's Community Projects was a one-off grant and ends in April 2011. It has always been the aim to demonstrate the effectiveness of the projects and embed them as part of local commissioning arrangements. Projects receive funding from a wide range of sources, including probation trusts, local authorities, and local health commissioners.
	Directors of Offender Management are working with probation who have the lead role in sustaining successful projects through joint local commissioning and partnership arrangements. The Ministry is also taking forward an action plan for building capacity in the Women's Community Projects to help ensure their long-term sustainability which includes targeted activity focusing on local high custodial sentencing hotspots.

Courts: South West and South East

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to respond to the consultation on the provision of court services in Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and Wiltshire.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Lord Chancellor hopes to announce decisions on the proposals for the future provision of court services in England and Wales to Parliament by the end of the year.

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department and its predecessors spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in each of the last 10 years.

Jonathan Djanogly: Since its formation in May 2007, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has paid a total of £5,250 to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. This expenditure was incurred in the 2007-08 financial year. These are the only payments made to the Institute for Fiscal Studies by MoJ or its predecessors since April 2003.
	Information prior to April 2003 is not held centrally since it was only from this date that the Lord Chancellor's Department had adopted the current financial accounting system. It would incur disproportionate cost to identify specific expenditure from before April 2003.

Land Registry

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to include representatives of all relevant trade unions in his consultation on the future of the Land Registry;
	(2)  what timetable he has set for his Department's consultation on the future of the Land Registry.

Crispin Blunt: My ministerial colleague, my noble Friend, Lord McNally has already held a meeting with Public Commercial Services Union on 3 November to discuss the Feasibility Study on the future of Land Registry. He has also agreed to meet the First Division Association on a date to be arranged.
	In addition the project team leading the study have scheduled a discussion with Union representatives on 22 November.
	Ministers will only make a decision on their preferred option once they have received the feasibility study. If our preference is for a materially different business strategy or ownership structure for Land Registry then a full public consultation process will be undertaken.
	I expect to be in a position to make a decision on the preferred option in the new year.

Offensive Weapons: Reprimand and Final Warning Scheme

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to exclude youths charged with the possession of an offensive weapon or a bladed article from his proposed reprimand and final warning scheme.

Crispin Blunt: We are currently undertaking a comprehensive assessment of sentencing which will include youth sentencing and out-of-court disposals, such as reprimands and warnings. We intend to publish a Green Paper later in the year setting out our proposals for consultation.

Prisons: Females

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to retain the target of the previous administration in respect of reducing the number of women in prisons.

Crispin Blunt: We are committed to diverting women away from crime and tackling women's offending effectively. We are already taking forward a different approach to divert vulnerable women away from custody with a gender specific enhanced bail provision and through the Women's Community Projects. We will publish a Green Paper later this year, setting out plans to reform sentencing and rehabilitate offenders more generally. Our plans for the women's prison estate will be considered in the light of these proposals.

Prisons: Visits

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2010,  Official Report, column 83W, on prisons: visits, what the administration costs referred to are.

Crispin Blunt: The administration costs of the Assisted Prison Visits Scheme in the financial year 2009-10 were £673,424. In the last 12 calendar months, October 2009 to September 2010 the amount was £681,111.

Probation: Wales

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has had any recent discussions on transferring to the National Assembly for Wales responsibility for the Probation Service in Wales.

Crispin Blunt: There are no proposals to transfer overall responsibility for probation services from the Ministry of Justice. As such no discussions have been held or are planned about that matter with the Welsh Assembly Government. We continue to maintain a close working relationship with the Welsh Assembly Government at all levels in relation to devolved and non-devolved responsibilities. This ensures that the commissioning and delivery of offender services take full account of the uniqueness in Wales.

Sexual Offences

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the outcomes of the pilot to introduce polygraph tests for sex offenders; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The Government are committed to the protection of the public through the most effective supervision of offenders. A three-year study of mandatory polygraph testing for sex offenders is under way in the east and west midlands to determine whether such testing might be a helpful tool in the assessment and management of sexual offenders who are released from custody on licence. The Ministry of Justice has commissioned an evaluation of the testing, and the research will consider both implementation and outcomes, including an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of mandatory polygraph testing, should it be shown to be efficacious. The draft report is due at the end of September 2012 and will be published following quality assurance.

Young Offender Institutions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent reports he has received of the disorder at  (a) Moorland Institute in Hatfield and  (b) Warren Hill Unit in Woodbridge; what steps he has taken to prevent a reoccurrence; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: I received regular reports as these incidents were taking place. Internal investigations are under way into both incidents. In addition the police are investigating incidents at both establishments. The recommendations from the internal investigation will be closely examined.

Young Offenders: Public Expenditure

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has for the future level of funding for youth offending teams in the comprehensive spending review period; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: Levels of funding for youth offending teams over the next spending review period are yet to be decided. Work is currently being undertaken to allocate resources to areas of youth justice and these will be communicated to these areas in due course.

Young Offenders: Reoffenders

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take to reduce the re-offending rate among offenders aged between 18 and 24 years.

Crispin Blunt: This Government will be setting out their plans for a radical new approach to addressing reoffending-including that of young adult offenders-in our forthcoming Sentencing and Rehabilitation Green Paper. This will outline plans for a system which is more effective in delivering punishment while rehabilitating those who commit crime. To deliver this, we will ensure that offenders face up to their responsibilities, paying back victims and their communities through work, financial penalties and restorative justice.

Young Offenders: Reoffenders

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2010,  Official Report, column 911W, on youth offenders: reoffenders, what steps the Government are considering to reduce the rate of reoffending.

Crispin Blunt: The reoffending rate for those leaving custody has remained broadly stable over the past 10 years. We are currently reviewing our policies and intend to publish a Green Paper later in the year setting out how we can more effectively sentence and rehabilitate young offenders to reduce reoffending.

Youth Justice

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to increase the number of sentencing options available in magistrates courts where the offender is a youth with no previous convictions and pleads guilty.

Crispin Blunt: Courts are required to give a referral order to a young person aged 10-17 who appears in court for the first time and pleads guilty, unless the offence is so serious that custody is warranted. The referral order is a restorative justice-based order under which the young offender is referred to a youth offender panel consisting of two volunteers from the community advised by a member from the youth offending team.
	We are undertaking a full assessment of sentencing and will set out our proposals in a Green Paper to be published later this year. We will do further consultation with the Magistrates Association and others.

Youth Justice

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what sanctions are in place for young offenders who fail to comply with the conditions of a youth offending team's rehabilitation plan following a final warning.

Crispin Blunt: There are no direct sanctions, but non-compliance with an intervention programme as part of a warning can be cited in any future criminal proceedings. The likelihood of compliance is a factor in determining whether a warning is appropriate.

Youth Justice

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many youths charged with each type of offence have been issued with more than one final warning in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The following table shows figures for juveniles who received a warning and who had received at least one previous warning, as recorded on the Police National Computer.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of juveniles who received a warning and who had been issued with at least one previous warning by offence category, 2005-09 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Violence against the person 246 270 210 159 115 
			 Sexual offences 14 20 15 8 8 
			 Burglary 101 136 124 89 66 
			 Robbery 6 9 8 7 7 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 496 579 537 432 374 
			 Fraud and forgery 21 24 19 21 14 
			 Criminal damage 103 133 96 68 61 
			 Drug offences 321 274 298 273 278 
			 Indictable motoring offences 1 4 - 2 - 
			 Other indictable offences 38 53 41 31 32 
			 Summary offences 883 1,105 1,045 872 669 
			 Total 2,230 2,607 2,393 1,962 1,624 
		
	
	The figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, but the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police. The PNC largely covers 'recordable' offences-these are all indictable and triable-either-way offences plus many of the more serious summary offences.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders applied to residents of  (a) the London borough of Bexley and  (b) London have been extended beyond their original end date in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: Data collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued and breached are collated at Criminal Justice System (CJS) area level, rather than for constituency area level.
	Information on ASBOs extended beyond their original date is not available. This information could be obtained only by reference to individual court files which could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Oxford West

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were  (a) made and  (b) breached in Oxford West and Abingdon constituency in the latest year for which figures are available.

James Brokenshire: Data collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued and breached are collated at criminal justice system (CJS) area level, rather than constituency area level. Oxford West and Abingdon are within the Thames Valley CJS area.
	The latest figures cover the period 31 December 2008, and show that in 2008, 43 ASBOs were issued and 24 were proved in court to have been breached for the first time in the Thames Valley CJS area.

Asylum

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to shorten the length of time that asylum applications take to be processed.

Damian Green: The Asylum Improvement Project, which was established by the Government in the summer, is exploring new ways to improve the asylum system to speed up the processing of applications while improving the quality of decision making. It is an internal project but the team are consulting with corporate partners throughout the process and will adapt and change the plans as necessary.
	Current work includes a number of pilot initiatives including a project in west London to reduce the number of decisions overturned at appeal, the use of a case triaging tool in Leeds which will help caseworkers decide the most efficient way to sequence their activities, and a number of initiatives across the country to reduce the length of asylum interviews and decisions. We will evaluate progress in April 2011 and will implement the successful pilots nationally.

Asylum: Deportation

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers have absconded after receiving deportation notices since May 2010.

Damian Green: We have assumed 'deportation notices' to mean 'removal notices'. Between 1 May 2010 and 31 October 2010, 176 failed asylum seekers absconded after being served with removal directions.

Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a copy of each item of guidance issued to retailers on the operation of the section 4 payment card.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency is not in possession of guidance issued to retailers on the operation of the Section 4 payment card. This is a matter for Sodexo, the contractor who operates the Section 4 payment scheme on behalf of the UK Border Agency. Sodexo liaises directly with the individual participating retailers regarding the provision of guidance.

Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether retailers participating in the section 4 payment card scheme receive a fee.

Damian Green: The retailers participating in the section 4 payment card scheme do not receive any fee.

Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much credit is allocated to section 4 payment cards for individuals with children.

Damian Green: Section 4 support is paid at the flat rate of £39.39 per person, per week, irrespective of the age of the main supported person and/or their dependants.
	In addition, there is provision in the regulations for payments of £5 per week for clothing for children, and for grants of £250 to expectant and new mothers. Further allowances can be made for stationery, phone card and birth certificates. These payments are provided on the payment cards.

Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the UK Border Agency records instances where individuals using the section 4 payment card have been refused service by participating retailers.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency records instances where individuals using the section 4 payment card have been refused service by participating retailers. A small minority of attempted transactions result in refusals, and in most cases, are the result of the service user having insufficient funds on their card.

Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has received reports of any technical difficulties in the operation of the section 4 payment card.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency records instances where individuals using the section 4 payment card have experienced technical difficulties. The number of unsuccessful transactions caused by technical or supermarket training issues was just over 2% of the total number of unsuccessful transactions to the end of October 2010.

Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the UK Border Agency takes to  (a) measure and  (b) monitor levels of hardship among asylum seekers.

Damian Green: No asylum seeker need be destitute while their claim is being determined. The UK Border Agency provides support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute from the time they arrive in the UK until their claim is determined, and any appeal rights are exhausted.

British Nationality: South East

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people  (a) applied for and  (b) were refused UK citizenship who were resident in (i) Reading West constituency, (ii) Reading, (iii) Berkshire and (iv) the South East in each year since 2001.

Damian Green: The information requested is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Nationality applications received and refusals of British citizenship in south-east England 2004 to June 2010( 1,2,3) 
			   Applications received  Refused( 4) 
			   Total for Reading  Total for w est Berkshire( 5)  Total for south - east England  Total for Reading  Total for w est Berkshire  Total for  south- east England 
			 2004 455 130 11,175 45 5 645 
			 2005 1,080 205 19,665 80 15 1,455 
			 2006 710 225 14,380 70 10 1,240 
			 2007 750 210 16,700 70 5 1,140 
			 2008 750 175 15,505 30 10 695 
			 2009 820 230 20,375 35 5 845 
			 2010(6,7) 510 110 11,040 10 * 330 
			 (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest five, '*' = negligible, i.e. two or less. (2) Data are available from 2004 when postcodes mapped to local authorities for the reporting of citizenship ceremonies resulted in capture of location information. (3) We cannot report on constituencies. (4) The refusal figures do not relate to the applications received in the same time period. (5) The local authority in Berkshire is called West Berkshire district council. (6) 2010 figures are available up to 30 June 2010, the last period for which data have been published. (7) January to June 2010  Note: The information has been provided from local management information and is not a National Statistic. As such it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.  Source: Local management information provided by UKBA, North West Region Planning and MI Team

Counter-terrorism

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects the review of the Prevent strand of the counter-terrorism strategy to be completed.

Nick Herbert: The review of Prevent is due to be completed by January 2011, as announced in the Home Office Draft Structural Reform Plan published in July.

Departmental Legislation

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many statutory duties were placed on local authorities by legislation introduced by her Department in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: The information requested is not readily available. The Department for Communities and Local Government is currently conducting a review of the statutory duties it places on local authorities by legislation (including EU-imposed duties), with a view to removing duties which are no longer needed. It is also considering how to broaden this review across Whitehall Departments.

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's capital expenditure per head was in  (a) London and  (b) the North West in each of the last five years.

Nick Herbert: The Country and Regional Analysis is a yearly exercise that Departments participate in that allocates departmental spending to regions based on who benefits from that spending, not necessarily where the spending takes place.
	On that basis, the results for the Home Office capital expenditure per head per specified region were as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   London  North West 
			 2005-06 4.45 2.80 
			 2006-07 8.05 5.62 
			 2007-08 7.21 4.72 
			 2008-09 8.07 5.31 
			 2009-10 8.63 6.01

Drugs

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress her Department has made on the development of a framework to evaluate the spending and effectiveness of measures aimed at tackling problem drug use.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 12 November 2010
	The Government are committed to ensuring that they obtain value for money from drugs policies and interventions. The Home Office has been working with other Government Departments to establish an evaluation framework, which will be used to support assessments of the new drugs strategy, due for publication in December.

Extradition: USA

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requests  (a) the UK and  (b) the US has made under the terms of the UK-US Extradition Treaty since 2003; and what the outcome of each such request has been.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 4 November 2010
	The 2003 UK-US Extradition treaty came into force on 26 April 2007.
	 (a) Since 26 April 2007 and up to 31 October 2010, 48 people had been arrested pursuant to extradition requests received by the UK from the United States. Of these 48, 24 have been extradited and 23 are currently subject to extradition proceedings. There is one absconder.
	 (b) Since 26 April 2007 and up to 31 October 2010, the UK has made 32 extradition requests to the United States. Of these 32, 24 have been extradited, one has been deported prior to extradition proceedings commencing, one case has been withdrawn and one case closed due to the person not being located.
	There are five outstanding requests.
	Please note that this information does not include figures for Scotland.

Firearms

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress her Department has made in its review of the statutory regime affecting firearm ownership; what representations she has received as part of that review from representatives of the gun manufacturing industry; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Government have submitted evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee which is conducting an inquiry into firearms controls. Their findings will be taken into account and a written response made. The Government will also be taking into account the results of the peer reviews commissioned by the chief constable into the force's handling of the shootings in Cumbria. A meeting has been held to discuss a range of issues with the British Shooting Sports Council which has associate representatives from a number of shooting organisations including the Gun Trade Association. Representations from other organisations both for and against further controls will be fully considered.

Homicide: Pathology

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will bring forward proposals to require two pathologists to attend an initial post mortem for a murder inquiry for the purpose of ensuring greater clarity on the cause of death and to reduce the possibility of unnecessary delays to an inquiry.

James Brokenshire: I do not believe it would be proportionate to require two forensic pathologists to attend every suspicious death post-mortem examination.
	The attendance of two forensic pathologists would significantly increase the costs of the examination and would create additional costs throughout the inquest and criminal justice system processes. Given the number of available forensic pathologists it would also delay the examination in a significant number of cases. This could be justified only if there were clear and substantial benefits.
	Currently the coroner instructs a forensic pathologist, routinely one on the Home Office Register of forensic pathologists, to perform the examination. The pathologist will perform the examination, according to standards established by the Home Office and Royal College of Pathologists, and prepare a report. In all cases the report is subject to a critical conclusions check by another forensic pathologist prior to issue. The pathologist will also arrange a more extensive "peer review" in more complex cases.
	Of the 2,500 to 3,000 suspicious death post-mortem examinations each year about one-third are determined to be homicide. In many of the homicide cases the cause of death is not in dispute and, where it is, this is often based on a disagreement as to the interpretation of the findings established at the examination rather than the accuracy of the findings. Such issues, frequently, becomes clear only when a pathologist is instructed, and has information provided to him, by the defence-which routinely occurs some time after the initial post-mortem examination. It therefore appears that a second pathologist being present at the initial examination would not improve the standards of the examination or, in a significant number of cases, alter (a) the outcome of the examination or (b) the level of dispute that arises in the case.

Independent Safeguarding Authority: Public Finance

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of  (a) establishing and  (b) operating the Independent Safeguarding Authority.

Lynne Featherstone: The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) was formally vested in January 2008 and began operational work in March 2008. The costs of establishing prior to vesting were £9.87 million. The establishment costs cover the development of interim IT and the cost of fitting out the ISA's head offices at Stephenson House, Darlington.
	The ISA is funded by grant in aid payments from the Home Office. For the financial year 2010-11, the ISA's total resource budget was £16.8 million.
	This figure was established before the Government announced their review of the Vetting and Barring Scheme. The terms of reference for the review were announced on 22 October and outcome of the review will be announced in the new year. The ISA budget will be re-assessed in accordance with this review.

Julian Assange

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reports she has received of threats made to the safety of Mr Julian Assange while resident in the UK.

Nick Herbert: My Department is unable to comment on matters relating to intelligence received. It is Home Office policy not to comment on the operational or security arrangements of any individual or group, as to do so could compromise their safety.

National Crime Agency

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding she plans to allocate to establish the National Crime Agency.

Nick Herbert: As my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary said in the House on 26 July 2010,  Official Report, columns 723-38, we will publish figures on costs and the business case for the National Crime Agency in due course. This will cover the functions, size and resourcing of the new agency.

Police: Cambridgeshire

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in the Northern Division basic command unit of the Cambridgeshire constabulary in each quarter since 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 11 November 2010
	The available data are provided in the following table which shows the police officer strength in the Northern Division basic command unit of the Cambridgeshire constabulary in each of the years 31 March 2005 to 31 March 2010.
	Figures are only available as at 31 March in each year.
	
		
			  Police officer strength in the Northern Division  basic command unit  of the Cambridgeshire  c onstabulary as at 31 March 2005 to 31 March 2010( 1) 
			   Police officers 
			 2005 308 
			 2006 317 
			 2007 287 
			 2008 290 
			 2009 312 
			 2010 315 
			 (1) These figures are based on full-time equivalents that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Figures include those officers on career breaks and maternity/paternity leave.

Police: Olympic Games 2012

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what plans she has for the number of police bomb detection dog units deployed in respect of the London 2012 Olympics;
	(2)  if she will review the adequacy of the training standards for civilian security contractors deploying dog surveillance units as part of the gate security for the London 2012 Olympics;
	(3)  if she will discuss with G4S and Wagtail the standards of dog training in respect of the deployment of explosives and firearms dog units at the London 2012 Olympics.

Nick Herbert: The Olympic Development Authority (ODA), London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), Police and other security agencies are working to an integrated strategy agreed by the Home Office. There are a number of security layers, of which screening for explosives and other weapons plays a part. The screening solutions being developed are sophisticated and involve a range of technologies, dogs and security personnel. All dogs and their handlers that will be used for the protection of the Games, whether by Police or private security, will operate to defined standards and will be supported by a strong quality assurance programme. The capacity of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) explosives search dogs is being increased ahead of the Games.
	At the Olympic Park and Athletes' Village, the Home Office continues to work closely with the ODA and the MPS. Part of this work includes putting in place robust assurance processes to ensure that the explosive detection dog capability on the Park meets the agreed standard. ODA's security department is responsible for the management of that contract.

Proceeds of Crime: Bolton

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money recovered under the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 by Greater Manchester police, Bolton division, was received by her Department in 2009-10; and for what purposes that funding was allocated.

James Brokenshire: In 2009-10 Greater Manchester police helped recover £3.64 million under the Proceeds of Crime Act, but we do not hold any further detail on how this was broken down by division.
	Under the current Asset Recovery Incentivisation scheme half of all assets recovered are returned to all the law enforcement agencies involved; and in 2009-10 Greater Manchester police received £1.17 million.
	Money returned under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation scheme is primarily intended to support reinvestment in asset recovery. Some agencies have also used this money to fund crime reduction and community projects.
	The other half of all assets is retained as core Home Office funding. Some of this is dedicated to reinvestment in asset recovery, such as £10.5 million annual funding for the nine multi-agency Regional Asset Recovery Teams.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether proposed regulation of the next generation of speed cameras will be included in her legislative proposals for regulation of the use of CCTV.

James Brokenshire: Our review of CCTV does not extend to speed cameras and there are, therefore, no plans to include them in our forthcoming proposals.

Telecommunications: Databases

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will bring forward proposals to put her Department's Interception Modernisation Programme on a statutory footing; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: As was made clear in the strategic defence and security review, the Government will continue to build on an existing programme of work to preserve the ability of the law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies to obtain communications data and to intercept communications within the appropriate legal framework. We will legislate to ensure this is compatible with the Government's approach to civil liberties and use of communications capabilities. Details of this legislation will be announced in Parliament in due course.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan and Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of post-traumatic stress disorder have been recorded among  (a) Royal Marines and  (b) army infantry soldiers who have served in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan.

Andrew Robathan: The following table details the number of patients attending a Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) initially assessed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2009. The figures reflect patients who have deployed as part of Op TELIC and/or Op HERRICK. Some Service personnel may have deployed to both theatres, hence the sub-totals exceed the overall total.
	
		
			   Royal Marines  Army Infantry 
			 Op TELIC and/or Op HERRICK 54 74 
			 Op TELIC 21 49 
			 Op HERRICK 50 47 
		
	
	These figures report only new attendances (and new episodes of care since July 2009) during the period, not all those who were receiving treatment. Equivalent verified data prior to 2007 are not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Personnel deployment data relating to Afghanistan are not available prior to 14 October 2005. Therefore, it is possible that some patients reporting with PTSD, and who deployed prior to that date, have not been captured within these statistics.
	This answer was produced using data from the Annual UK Armed Forces Mental Health Report which includes statistics on PTSD. This information can be found on the Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) website under All Other Publications and Health/Medical Statistics.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 3 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 847-50W, on armed forces: investigations, if he will arrange for his response to be published in the  Official Report; and when he plans to write to the hon. Member for Newport West.

Liam Fox: The records required to answer the hon. Member's questions are not held centrally and it will take time to identify and review them. I will write to the hon. Member once this work is completed and my response will be published in the  Official Report.

Air Force: Military Bases

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the likely effects on his Department's airfields of the outcomes of the comprehensive spending review.

Andrew Robathan: It will take some time to work out the implications of the strategic defence and security review for defence basing. The work is now under way, and we will fully consult all the relevant agencies and the local communities that have given so much support to our armed forces over the years, before any announcements are made.

Aircraft Carriers: Contracts

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will commission an inquiry into the negotiating process leading to the agreement of the  (a) contracts to construct the new aircraft carriers and  (b) the penalty clauses in those contracts.

Peter Luff: The contract for the aircraft carriers was related to the programme of work agreed when the previous Government entered into arrangements to sustain the ability to design and integrate complex warships in the UK. As such, the Government are not presently convinced that an inquiry into the negotiating process leading to the carrier contract is needed. We will be reviewing the future of the relevant sector strategy as part of the consultation process the Ministry of Defence will launch next month leading to a White Paper on Defence and Security Industry and Technology policy in spring 2011.

Armed Forces: Disciplinary Proceedings

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what rules govern the prosecution of military personnel accused of illegal attacks on civilians in  (a) the UK and  (b) foreign countries.

Nick Harvey: Within the UK, members of the armed forces are subject to general criminal law and service law (which in this respect is broadly the same as criminal law) and may be prosecuted through the civilian or military court system. For offences committed in the UK, there is a presumption in favour of a civilian trial if the victim is a civilian.
	Every member of the regular forces is subject to service law at all times, wherever in the world they may be serving. Reserves are subject to service law, broadly speaking, when they are with the services wherever they are. The services' disciplinary system will operate effectively anywhere in the world. For offences against civilians abroad, the choice of jurisdiction between the service and local courts generally depends on agreements with the local jurisdiction. Where our armed forces are engaged in an armed conflict in a foreign state it will almost always be the case that the service courts will exercise jurisdiction.

Armed Forces: Food

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to increase the proportion of domestically produced food supplied to the armed forces.

Nick Harvey: European Union procurement legislation precludes public bodies from discriminating in favour of domestic products when procuring food and Ministry of Defence contractors are required to seek best value for money in the open market. However, where competitive, the MOD gives full consideration to procuring British produce. To this end regular and routine meetings are held between MOD and other Government Departments aimed at assisting British companies to better compete for MOD food contracts.

Armed Forces: Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of the expenditure required to raise the standard of service accommodation in the Falkland Islands to levels required of service accommodation in the UK.

Andrew Robathan: A posting to the Falkland Islands is not permanent (being a form of operational deployment) and although the service accommodation is recognised to be at a lower standard, it is still considered to be at an acceptable level and is graded and charged for accordingly.
	If work were carried out to raise the standard of the accommodation in the Falkland Islands to the level expected in the UK, the cost to the public purse of the expenditure is estimated to be at least £85 million.

Armed Forces: Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent assessment is of progress in the modernisation of service family accommodation.

Andrew Robathan: This Government are committed to ensuring that service personnel and their families are housed in good quality, modern service family accommodation (SFA).
	The ongoing upgrade and improvement programmes in the UK prioritises investment on a 'greatest needs first' basis. This year's upgrade programme, typically providing a new kitchen, bathroom, heating system and often a new roof and windows, will bring at least a further 800 SFA properties up to the highest standard for condition. In addition, around 4,000 properties will benefit from smaller-scale improvements such as new boilers, bathrooms, kitchens, loft insulation and double-glazing, which may not amount to a full upgrade but will deliver real lifestyle benefits to occupants.
	Over 95% of surveyed properties in the UK are now at the top two standards for condition. Those properties at standard four (the lowest) are no longer routinely allocated to incoming families unless specifically requested, and properties at standard three will not be allocated from 2012.

Armed Forces: Medals

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what weighing is given to the time served on operational tours by territorial army soldiers when calculating the requirements for the volunteer reserves service medal.

Andrew Robathan: Members of the reserves forces may be granted the Volunteer Reserves' Service Medal which is awarded to all ranks in recognition of long and efficient service. It is awarded for 10 years' exemplary service in the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marine Reserve, the Territorial Army and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, and clasps are available for additional periods of five years. An individual receiving this award must be above reproach in respect of conduct and performance throughout their service. Reserve personnel who go on operational tours and meet the criteria are entitled to receive the medal that recognises that tour. Time spent on these duties will naturally accrue towards the 10 years' total service required.

Armed Forces: Northumberland

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of residents in  (a) Wansbeck constituency and  (b) Northumberland in each age group who were serving in the armed forces on the latest date for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: As at 1 July 2010 there were 1,240 service personnel stationed in the Northumberland county council area.
	Residential address information with reference to parliamentary constituency and age is not held.
	Details of the number and stationed location of military personnel broken down by service, county, unitary authority and local authority area is produced by the Department as Tri Service Publication 10 which can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&pubType=0&thiscontent=100&PublishTime =09:30:00&date=2010-08-26&disText=01%20Jul% 202010&from=listing&topDate=2010-08-26
	Copies are available in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Smallpox

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministry of Defence personnel are vaccinated against smallpox for the purposes of first response in the event of a biological attack.

Nick Harvey: In 2003, a cohort of 107 key medical and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) specialist personnel were vaccinated against smallpox, in order that they could themselves act as vaccinators of further armed forces personnel in the event of an outbreak. In order to ensure that our future vaccination policy is based on an up-to-date, intelligence-informed assessment of the threat, a review of the Ministry of Defence's approach to smallpox vaccination is currently being undertaken.

Atomic Weapons Establishment

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) of 17 June 2010,  Official Report, column 499W, on the Atomic Weapons Establishment, what reviews are currently underway at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Liam Fox: Reviews are being undertaken in the following areas: implementation of measures identified within the Strategic Defence and Security Review; the efficient and effective operation of the AWE contract; and, the future contracting strategies for future phases of the Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme.

AWE Burghfield

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of his Department's expenditure on the re-kit programme for the nuclear warhead assembly/disassembly facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Burghfield over the lifetime of the programme.

Peter Luff: Expenditure on the re-kit programme for the nuclear warhead assembly/disassembly facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Burghfield, is estimated at £50 million over the lifetime of the programme.

BAE Systems

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees of BAE Systems were on secondment to his Department on 1 April 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The information requested is not held centrally and will take some time to collate. I shall write to the hon. Member with a substantive answer as soon as one is available.

Chief Coroner

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the likely effects of the implementation of the proposal to close the Chief Coroner's Office on the families of armed forces personnel who have died in active service.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 12 November 2010
	I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 November 2010,  Official Report, column 9, to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson).

Defence: Expenditure

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on meeting the NATO target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defence.

Liam Fox: I have had regular discussion with the US Secretary of Defence on the implications of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, including our continued ability to meet the NATO target for defence spending.

Defence: Expenditure

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual running costs are of  (a) a Royal Marine commando unit and  (b) an army infantry battalion.

Nick Harvey: The average annual running cost of a Royal Marine commando unit is £27.5 million. This includes military pay and allowances (including manpower costs of deployed Royal Marines), civilian pay and allowances, and other costs such as utilities, building maintenance, medical support, food, fuel and transport.
	An army infantry battalion can either be an armoured, light or mechanised battalion. The average annual cost of an army infantry battalion is approximately £33 million: this includes military pay and allowances and other running costs, but excludes civilian manpower costs.

Departmental Early Retirement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff of  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have been offered enhanced early retirement packages in each of the last three years.

Andrew Robathan: Data on the number of offers of enhanced early retirement packages are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the following table gives the number of enhanced early retirement packages that have been awarded over the last three financial years by the Ministry of Defence and its trading funds.
	
		
			   2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 MOD including agencies 1,260 610 390 
			 Trading funds 50 50 70 
			 Totals 1,310 660 460 
			  Note: All totals have been individually rounded to the nearest 10.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on hospitality for events hosted by each of its Ministers in  (a) September and  (b) October 2010.

Liam Fox: On 13 and 26 September 2010 and 13 October 2010, the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Lord Astor of Hever, who is Defence spokesman in the House of Lords hosted a meeting to brief other Members of the House of Lords and ex-service Chiefs on Defence issues. The total cost for these events were £45, £63 and £116 respectively.

Departmental Reviews

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what departmental policy reviews his Department has undertaken since 6 May 2010; on what date each such review  (a) was announced and  (b) is expected to publish its findings; what estimate he has made of the cost of each such review; who has been appointed to lead each such review; to what remuneration each review leader is entitled; how many (i) full-time equivalent civil servants and (ii) seconded staff are working on each such review; from which organisations such staff have been seconded; and how much on average such seconded staff will be paid for their work on the review.

Liam Fox: This information is not held centrally. I have tasked my Department to collate this information and I will write to the hon. Member with a full response as soon as this information is collated.

Falkland Islands

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the likely effects on his Department's operations in respect of the Falkland Islands of the outcomes of the spending review; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The Government are unequivocally committed to the defence of the Falklands.
	None of the decisions taken as part of the strategic defence and security review and associated spending review settlement will reduce our ability to deter or defend against an attack on the Falkland Islands.

Falkland Islands: Deployment

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has had discussions with the French Government on the possible deployment of aircraft carriers to the Falkland Islands.

Nick Harvey: There have been no discussions with the French Government on the possible deployment of aircraft carriers to the Falkland Islands because we have not seen this as necessary.

Falkland Islands: Deployment

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the chain of command is in respect of the deployment of aircraft carriers to the Falkland Islands.

Nick Harvey: While deployed in the Falkland Islands, a British ship would be under the operational command of the Permanent Joint Headquarters.

France: Nuclear Weapons

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many French Government personnel have visited  (a) the Atomic Weapons Establishment and  (b) HM Naval Base Clyde in (i) 2009 and (ii) 2010 to date; and which (A) staff of his Department and (B) AWE staff have visited French military nuclear establishments in each of those years.

Liam Fox: The number of French Government personnel who visited the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) and HM Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde in 2009 and 2010 to date is as follows:
	
		
			   2009  2010 
			 AWE 42 42 
			 HMNB Clyde 67 22 
		
	
	The AWE figures include visits by Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique/ Direction des Applications Militaires (CEA/DAM) personnel, as CEA/DAM is the French Government's equivalent of AWE. The figures for HMNB Clyde exclude the French Navy Exchange Officer permanently attached to the staff of Flag Officer Sea Training (North) and the crews of visiting French naval vessels. French Government personnel involved in the joint operation (and associated training) of the NATO Submarine Rescue System based at the Clyde have been included.
	Seventy AWE scientific, engineering and technical staff visited French military nuclear establishments in 2009, and 74 in 2010 to date. To attempt to identify those civilian and military personnel, across the Department (including members of the armed forces), who have also made such visits would incur a disproportionate cost, as this information is not held centrally or in the format requested.

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Robathan: There are no contracts recorded on the MOD's Financial Management Shared Service Centre (FMSSC) contracts database for the Institute for Fiscal Studies for any of the last 10 years.

Low Flying

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many operational low flying passes were flown in  (a) low flying area 7 (T),  (b) low flying area 14 (T) and  (c) low flying area 20 (T) for each (i) aircraft type and (ii) mission duration in each year since 2004; and from which airbase the flights originated.

Nick Harvey: The statistics for the amount of military low flying carried out in the UK Military Low Flying System is recorded in hours rather than by the number of passes or sorties, as this is deemed to be more representative of the level of activity within the system. Data are recorded by the training year (April to March) rather than by calendar year. The figures for the training year 2010-11 will be published in the next statement on the pattern of military low flying that will be available in the House in summer 2011.
	The majority of operational low flying is conducted by fast-jet aircraft, with a lesser amount being conducted by C-130 Hercules aircraft based at RAF Lyneham. Operational low flying is not conducted by rotary wing aircraft. In 2004, fast-jet aircraft conducting operational low flying were the Jaguar based at RAF Coltishall, the Harrier based at RAF Cottesmore, and the Tornado GR4 based at RAF Marham and RAF Lossiemouth. Since 2004, the Jaguar has been retired from service, and in 2010 fast-jet operational low flying is only conducted by the Harrier and Tornado GR4.
	Prior to 2010, records were maintained by a manual system that enabled the total amount of operational low flying to be calculated for each tactical training area. These figures are primarily used to regulate the total amount of operational low flying conducted according to the relative size of each tactical training area, and also to enable a year-on-year comparison of this training activity. To ascertain the level of detail requested regarding aircraft type, individual sortie duration and the airbase of origin would require a detailed review of each squadron's authorisation paperwork over the requested period, and would incur disproportionate cost.
	From 2010, a system has been developed to enable manual data returns from each squadron to be recorded electronically to produce more detailed statistics. This system will be first-used in the next publication of low flying statistics in summer 2011.
	The information which follows reflects the actual amount of operational low flying carried out between 100 and 250 feet within 7T, 14T and 20T, the tactical training areas in mid-Wales, northern Scotland and southern Scotland/Anglo-Scottish border area.
	
		
			Hours  Minutes 
			 2003-04 LFA 7T 32 12 
			  LFA 14T 197 40 
			  LFA 20T 278 11 
			 
			 2004-05 LFA 7T 27 5 
			  LFA 14T 138 7 
			  LFA 20T 209 8 
			 
			 2005-06 LFA 7T 13 49 
			  LFA 14T 161 48 
			  LFA 20T 202 53 
			 
			 2006-07 LFA 7T 14 30 
			  LFA 14T 161 11 
			  LFA 20T 179 35 
			 
			 2007-08 LFA 7T 18 30 
			  LFA 14T 76 32 
			  LFA 20T 96 4 
			 
			 2008-09 LFA 7T 15 35 
			  LFA 14T 63 46 
			  LFA 20T 46 54 
			 
			 2009-10 LFA 7T 30 37 
			  LFA 14T 117 20 
			  LFA 20T 160 56

Military Bases

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an assessment of the effects on the local economy of the US base at RAF Menwith Hill; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The most recent assessment of the local economic impact of RAF Menwith Hill estimated that the Base contributes in the order of £130 million per year to the local economy.

Military Exercises

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2008,  Official Report, column 300W, AWE Management: emergencies, whether the Royal Berkshire Hospital participated in the Aldex 10 emergency exercise.

Peter Luff: The Aldex 10 emergency exercise tested emergency response arrangements in place for the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) sites. The exercise took place on 10 November 2010.
	West Berkshire council had responsibility for this exercise, which had a wide range of participants. The Royal Berkshire Hospital played an important role in emergency planning for AWE and participated in Aldex 10.

Nuclear Weapons

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to secure a supply of tritium for Trident nuclear warheads to cover the period until the current warhead design reaches the end of its planned life; and whether the ability to secure a supply of tritium is recorded as a risk for the defence nuclear programme in his Department's risk register.

Liam Fox: This information is being withheld for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

Nuclear Weapons: Finance

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what expenditure his Department has incurred on the Nuclear Weapons Capability Sustainment Programme in each year since the programme's inception; and what estimate he has made of such expenditure in each remaining year of the programme.

Liam Fox: The Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme (NWCSP) began in 2005 following the announcement by the then Secretary of State for Defence on 19 July 2005,  Official Report, column 59WS, of increased funding to the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE).
	Expenditure since 2005-06, and the provisional figure for the current financial year is as follows:
	
		
			   £ million at outturn prices 
			 2005-06 493 
			 2006-07 687 
			 2007-08 894 
			 2008-09 800 
			 2009-10 870 
			 2010-11 (1)932 
			 (1) Provisional 
		
	
	Since 1 April 2008, financial planning for AWE has made no distinction between management and operation costs and those associated with the NWCSP.
	Future planned expenditure at AWE will be subject to cost savings measures identified in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). Release of further details may prejudice the Ministry of Defence's negotiating position with its commercial suppliers and final savings figures will depend on detailed SDSR-related implementation. The MOD is therefore not prepared to release further financial information at this time.

Operation Phoenix

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an assessment of the purposes of Operation Phoenix activities at the US base at RAF Menwith Hill.

Nick Harvey: Project Phoenix is the name given to the demolition and replacement of one of the original operations buildings at RAF Menwith Hill. Construction works are estimated to be completed by June 2011.

Trident

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence until what date the Atomic Weapons Establishment has been tasked to guarantee the reliability of the Trident warhead arsenal.

Liam Fox: We announced in the strategic defence and security review that a replacement warhead is not required until at least the late 2030s, with a decision on replacing the existing warhead deferred until the next parliament. The Atomic Weapons Establishment is, therefore, undertaking the required stockpile certification work to support the warhead arsenal until the late 2030s.

Trident

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the sale to the private sector of facilities at Coulport for  (a) the storage of Trident warheads,  (b) the processing of Trident warheads,  (c) the storage of Trident missiles and  (d) operations at the explosives handling jetty.

Liam Fox: There are no current plans to sell any Trident warhead or missile, handling, storage, processing or ammunitioning facilities at Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport.
	Since July 2008, the Department has been assessing options on how best to provide elements of Strategic Weapons Systems support at Coulport in the future. One option under review is to engage with an experienced service provider from the private sector to deliver processing, storage and handling activities at Coulport.
	On current plans a decision is expected in early 2011. Irrespective of the outcome, Coulport will remain under the ownership and control of the Ministry of Defence. The safety, security and effectiveness of the UK's strategic deterrent remains paramount.

Trident

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely cost to the public purse of Trident replacement following an Initial Gate Decision in the  (a) present and  (b) next Parliament.

Liam Fox: The 2006 White Paper 'The Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent' set out the initial total procurement cost of the replacement nuclear deterrent as £15 billion to £20 billion in 2006-07 prices. The likely expenditure is dependent on the decision on Initial Gate which we expect in the next few weeks. I intend to update Parliament on progress, including costs, after the Initial Gate decision through the publication of a report.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will commission research into the incidence of combat stress in operators of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence takes seriously the mental health of all armed forces personnel, and a local study of the psychological health of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pilots is currently in progress. Historically, the RAF Medical Services have not detected any instances of acute stress reaction in any pilot responsible for operation of UAVs.

Warships

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the First Sea Lord on the Royal Navy's capacity to fulfil current commitments with a surface fleet of 19 ships.

Liam Fox: The full range of issues associated with the Strategic Defence and Security Review, including the capacity of the Royal Navy to fulfil current commitments, were discussed in the Defence Strategy Group, which included all Ministry of Defence Ministers, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Permanent Under-Secretary and all the Chiefs of Staff among others.
	The surface fleet will remain able to deliver a full spectrum of maritime capabilities ranging from full scale warfare to providing maritime security and projecting UK influence.

Yorkshire Regiment

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the role of Pioneer has been removed from the 4th Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment.

Andrew Robathan: The role of Assault Pioneer has been suspended in all Territorial Army (TA) Infantry Units. TA battalions will continue to man and train TA Infantrymen in their primary role as Riflemen but will not train them for this additional role. This measure has been taken because the operational requirement is for Riflemen, not Assault Pioneers.

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Interns

Luciana Berger: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many interns have been employed by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority since its creation; what  (a) pay and  (b) expenses they received; and what duties they carried out.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	 Letter from Andrew McDonald, dated October 2010:
	As Interim Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many interns have been employed by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority since its creation; what (a) pay and (b) expenses they received; and what duties they carried out.
	IPSA has not employed any interns.

PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Responsibilities: Urban Areas

Nick Brown: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has assigned Ministers responsibility for cities in England.

David Cameron: These appointments will be announced shortly.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Tom Watson: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  whether any special advisers have been disciplined by  (a) the Prime Minister and  (b) his Chief of Staff since 28 October 2010; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions the Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister has had on the conduct of special advisers since 28 October 2010; and if he will make a statement.

David Cameron: Special advisers are bound by the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the budget was of Transport Security and Contingencies in his Department for 2010-11; and what that budget is expected to be in  (a) 2011-12,  (b) 2012-13 and  (c) 2013-14.

Norman Baker: holding answer 8 November 2010
	The budget dedicated to Transport Security and Contingencies in 2010-11 was £28.7 million. It is expected to fall by around 25% over the period of the spending review. During this time, the Department for Transport is expecting to transfer certain functions to the Civil Aviation Authority, at which point the costs of delivering these functions will be recovered from the aviation industry.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many personnel at each grade work for Transport Security and Contingencies in his Department; and how many he expects there to be at each grade in  (a) April 2011,  (b) April 2012,  (c) April 2013 and  (d) April 2014.

Norman Baker: holding answer 8 November 2010
	The Central Department and its Agencies identified the following number of permanent staff working in Transport Security and Contingencies as at 31 October 2010:
	
		
			  Pay band  Transport Security and Contingencies 
			 AA 0.0 
			 AO 16.0 
			 EO 21.6 
			 HEO 101.6 
			 SEO 43.0 
			 Grade 7 23.8 
			 Grade 6 6.0 
			 SCS 5.0 
			 Total 217.0 
			  Note: Based on full time equivalent (FTE) figures which indicates the number of positions, including part time posts, rather than number of individuals. 
		
	
	The Department is in the process of reviewing its structure in light of the Government spending review. Future staff numbers will be determined as part of that process.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what volume of air freight entering the UK was carried by  (a) known consignors and  (b) carriers that are not known consignors in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Philip Hammond: The UK only recognises known consignors from the Republic of Ireland (through an extant MOU) and since April 2010 from EU member states, provided that they have been successfully validated within the last 12 months. The Department for Transport does not hold any specific statistical data on how much air freight arrives in the UK from known consignors but it will represent a very small percentage of the total.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to secure international agreement on increasing levels of security for air cargo.

Philip Hammond: Within Europe, common rules on civil aviation security are set out in legislation. A new set of detailed baseline standards, strengthening requirements in a number of areas, including cargo, applied from the end of April this year. My officials have met and are working closely with our EU partners to consider whether these rules need amending in light of the 29 October cargo bomb incidents. The UK has also called on the European Commission to advance work already under way in relation to aviation security screening requirements for cargo coming into and moving through Europe.
	In addition, my officials are working closely with the International Civil Aviation Organisation. We have taken an active role in promoting Amendment 12 to Annex 17 of the Chicago Convention which we expect the ICAO Council to adopt in mid-November. This will strengthen cargo security requirements worldwide. We are also working with ICAO and its member states to devise and promote the next steps towards further enhancement of international cargo security.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what inspection regime his Department has put in place in respect of third party bodies responsible for screening freight shipped by companies who are not known consignors;
	(2)  what mechanism his Department has put in place to ensure that screening of freight shipped by companies who are not known consignors is adequate.

Philip Hammond: The UK cargo regime is subject to inspection by aviation security compliance inspectors to ensure that entities regulated by the Department for Transport are applying the screening procedures in accordance with directions imposed on them under the National Aviation Security Programme. This includes regular unscheduled inspections.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance his Department issues to third parties responsible for screening freight on the  (a) equipment to be used in,  (b) frequency of and  (c) thoroughness of the screening process.

Philip Hammond: Directions are made by the Department for Transport under the Aviation Security Act 1982 and issued to directed parties. EU baseline standards for freight screening are contained within Regulation (EC) 300/2008. The UK adds more stringent security measures which are contained within the Single Consolidated Direction (Aviation) 2010. This document is sent to the industry along with the European regulations. For security reasons we do not provide detailed information on the content of this Direction.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who is responsible for screening freight handled by freight companies who are not known consignors.

Philip Hammond: Freight can only be screened and secured for air transport by regulated cargo agents who have been inspected and approved by the Department for Transport. Once approval is granted, they can apply screening measures in accordance with the requirements laid down in extant legislation and are subject to "no notice" inspections by Department for Transport inspectors.
	Freight which arrives at an airline cannot fly until it can be proved that it has had suitable and effective security measures applied to it elsewhere. Freight must be kept secure between the point of screening and arrival at the airport. If this is not possible then it and effective controls applied before it can fly.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who carries out audits of known consignors of air cargo on behalf of his Department.

Philip Hammond: The annual validations of known consignors are carried out by independent validators who are recruited and trained by the Department for Transport.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  for what period of time a known consignor of air cargo retains its trusted status before it is reviewed;
	(2)  how frequently audits are carried out on behalf of his Department to determine whether known consignors of air cargo are to retain their status;
	(3)  what requirements there are for inspection of the security arrangements of air cargo agents after they have been designated as known consignors.

Philip Hammond: Following the initial validation by an independent cargo validator which lasts for 12 months, the Department for Transport undertakes a programme to independently revalidate known consignors on a 12 monthly cycle. This revalidation is carried out by an independent validator different from the one who performed the initial validation. The same validator can not be used in successive years.
	Regulated air cargo agents (who are a different category from known consignors) have been inspected and approved by the Department for Transport. Once approval is granted, they are subject to "no notice" inspections by Department for Transport inspectors.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which air cargo agents are designated as known consignors.

Philip Hammond: Air cargo agents cannot be designated as known consignors. To be a known consignor a company has to prove to an independent validator that it falls into one of the following categories:
	The first category is the producer. They must be able to prove that they have produced the item in such a way that, without the use of any screening techniques, there is assurance that it cannot contain any prohibited article, for example a company which produces an item from raw materials.
	The second category is the distributor. An example of this is someone who receives identical merchandise from a producer and selects from this the amount necessary to fill an order. Providing the consignor can prove to the validator that the supplier of the stock would have no idea who the end customer was or how it would get there, the cargo is considered untargetable and thus the consignor can "originate" it.
	If the consignor wants to send cargo out he will often engage a freight agent who will undertake the paperwork, book the space on the truck or plane and sort out any customs procedures-so cargo agents can never be a known consignor as they can only handle other peoples' cargo and they never "originate" any of their own.
	A public list of regulated air cargo agents is available on the Department for Transport website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/security/aviation/listofdftregulatedagents
	These are air cargo agents who have applied to be regulated by the Department for Transport and are subject to legally binding directions from the Secretary of State. They have the authorisation to apply security measures to cargo which enables cargo to pass more quickly and economically to the airline.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department requires freight companies to take to establish whether packages submitted for shipping contain toner cartridges.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 8 November 2010
	Directions and guidance on the prohibition of the carriage of ink and toner cartridges by air have been sent to the aviation industry. It is for the industry to take the necessary steps to ensure compliance.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the statement by the Home Secretary on 1 November 2010,  Official Report, column 633, on the aviation security incident, which companies and industry bodies were invited to the meeting he chaired in the week of 1 November 2010 on aviation security; and on what date that meeting took place.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 8 November 2010
	The meeting mentioned in the Home Secretary's statement took place on Thursday 4 November. The companies and organisations in the list were invited to the meeting.
	TNT
	Fedex
	DHL
	UPS
	Virgin
	British Airways
	BMI
	BAR-UK (Board of Airline Representatives)
	British Air Transport Association
	Gatwick Airport
	Manchester Airports Group
	Birmingham Airport
	BAA
	Airport Operators Association
	Royal Mail
	Home Office
	TUI
	Easyjet
	British International Freight Association

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he has issued to companies on the steps to be taken to comply with the prohibition on the carriage of toner cartridges larger than 500 grams by air cargo into, via or from the UK unless they originate from a known consignor; and from what date such guidance is to have effect.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 8 November 2010
	Directions and guidance on the prohibition of the carriage of ink and toner cartridges by air have been sent to the aviation industry. This prohibition came into force at 00:01 hours on Tuesday 2 November. It is for those subject to the Directions to determine how to ensure compliance with them within their own operators.
	Ministers and officials will be meeting with senior representatives of the air cargo industry over the coming weeks to determine future cargo security strategy.

Aviation: Security

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the extent of the threat to aircraft from malicious software.

Philip Hammond: We are aware of this potential vulnerability and, as with all possible threat scenarios, we keep this threat under review, working in conjunction with other Government experts and industry.

British Transport Police: Schools

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the chief constable of British Transport Police on the role of British Transport police in schools.

Theresa Villiers: Department for Transport Ministers have not discussed the subject with the British Transport police. The force is nevertheless heavily involved with schools through both specific programmes such as their project on tackling knife and violence project and on a day to day basis when dealing with anti-social behaviour and other local issues.

Bus Services: Concessions

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the likely effect on  (a) average bus fares and  (b) the number of bus services of the proposed 20 per cent. reduction in the Bus Service Operators Grant (i) nationally and (ii) in London.

Norman Baker: holding answer 26 October 2010
	We estimate that the potential increase in average fares and average reduction in bus services, as a direct result of the 20% reduction to the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), would be around 1.5%. In practice, the effect will depend on the commercial decisions of bus operators and, where relevant, local authorities and Transport for London.
	I spoke to the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK, who represent the bus industry, following the Chancellor's announcement on 20 October. They were hopeful that, in general, the small reduction in BSOG could be absorbed without fares having to rise.

Cycling

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the effect on the level of cycling of the  (a) Bikeability,  (b) Cycling Towns and Cities and  (c) Finding New Solutions Cycling England programmes.

Norman Baker: In 2009, the Department for Transport commissioned an independent evaluation of the Cycling City and Towns programme, which includes infrastructure investment, cycle training (Bikeability), and other measures to encourage more people to cycle more often, and more safely. The evaluation is scheduled to run until 2012, with final results available in 2012-13.
	Results from preliminary evaluation of the original six cycling demonstration towns (CDTs) are available. They have shown changes in the levels of cycling and physical activity in CDTs across a range of indicators, including a one percentage point increase in the proportion of people cycling for 30 minutes at least three times a week, and a 27% increase in levels of cycling as measured by automatic cycle counts. These findings strongly suggest that cycling levels were increasing in the CDTs three years after the initiative began, with some evidence that similar increases were not occurring in comparable areas.
	The "Finding New Solutions" projects are a number of small programmes looking at other types of journeys people could make by bike: to work, for leisure and to and from railway stations. All of the projects are due to conclude at the end of March 2011. Data are being collected as the projects progress, and evaluation will be undertaken once they are completed.

Departmental Manpower

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) staff numbers and  (b) expenditure on staff costs as a proportion of their 2010-11 budget is for each agency sponsored by his Department.

Norman Baker: holding answer 27 October 2010
	 The following table shows  (a) the staff numbers and  (b) expenditure on staff costs as a proportion of the 2010-11 budget for each agency sponsored by the Department for Transport.
	The staff numbers are the 2009-10 figures as published in the 2009-10 Department for Transport resource accounts.
	
		
			   Staff  number s  Staff expenditure as percentage of budget 
			 DVLA 5,906 30.44 
			 DSA 2,525 44.00 
			 HA 3,747 2.68 
			 VOSA 2,444 43.60 
			 MCA 1,157 32.40 
			 VCA 139 51.00 
			 GCDA 310 55.52 
		
	
	If the Highways Agency figure appears to be low, this is because Highways Agency has a very large programme budget in excess of £4 billion due to the number of major projects the agency manages.

Departmental Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was paid to officials in his Department and its non-departmental public bodies in bonuses and other payments in addition to salary in each year since 1997; how many officials received such payments; and what the monetary values was of the largest 20 payments made in each such year.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport was established following machinery of government changes on 29 May 2002. Details of costs for the period prior to 2002 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The amount paid to officials in the Department for Transport including its seven Executive agencies, and its non-departmental public bodies in non-consolidated performance pay and other payments in addition to salary in each year since 2003 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Amount paid (£) 
			 2003-04(1) 2,093,576 
			 2004-05(2) 1,976,838 
			 2005-06 8,323,678 
			 2006-07 10,867,163 
			 2007-08 9,446,901 
			 2008/-9 11,744,001 
			 2009/-0 12,380,715 
			 (1) These figures do not include SCS or Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency as these figures could not be provided without breaching the disproportionate cost threshold.  (2) These figures do not include Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency as these figures could not be provided without breaching the disproportionate cost threshold. 
		
	
	We are not able to break the data down to identify the number of officials who received these payments without breaching the disproportionate cost threshold.
	The largest 20 payments made to officials in the Department for Transport including its seven Executive agencies, and its non-departmental public bodies, in each such year since 2003 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Rank  2003-04( 1)  2004-05( 2)  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 1 1,500 8,500 8,500 12,500 20,000 22,000 15,000 
			 2 785 8,500 7,500 10,500 20,000 20,500 12,500 
			 3 732 8,500 7,500 10,500 15,000 20,000 12,500 
			 4 500 8,500 7,500 10,500 15,000 19,000 12,500 
			 5 500 7,500 7,500 10,500 15,000 17,000 12,500 
			 6 500 7,500 7,500 10,500 15,000 15,000 12,500 
			 7 500 7,500 7,500 10,500 15,000 15,000 12,500 
			 8 500 7,500 7,500 10,500 15,000 15,000 12,500 
			 9 450 7,500 7,500 10,500 15,000 15,000 12,500 
			 10 450 6,500 7,500 10,500 15,000 15,000 12,500 
			 11 450 6,500 6,592 10,500 10,000 15,000 12,500 
			 12 450 6,500 6,500 9,000 10,000 15,000 12,500 
			 13 450 6,500 6,500 8,500 10,000 14,000 12,500 
			 14 450 6,500 6,500 8,500 10,000 14,000 10,000 
			 15 450 6,500 6,500 8,500 10,000 14,000 10,000 
			 16 450 6,500 6,500 8,500 10,000 13,615 10,000 
			 17 450 6,500 6,500 8,500 10,000 12,770 10,000 
			 18 450 6,500 6,500 8,500 10,000 12,500 10,000 
			 19 450 1,000 6,500 8,500 10,000 12,500 10,000 
			 20 450 1,000 6,500 8,500 10,000 12,000 10,000 
			 (1) No SCS or Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency payments are included as providing this information would breach the disproportionate cost threshold.  (2) No Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency payments are included as providing this information would breach the disproportionate cost threshold.

Electric Vehicles

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on encouraging the use of electric vehicles.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport is keen to encourage the development and uptake of electric vehicles.
	The spending review announced provision of over £400 million for measures promoting the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicle technologies. These measures include:
	support for consumer incentives for electric and other ultra-low emission cars throughout the life of this Parliament. The Secretary of State has already announced details of the Plug-In Car Grant, which, from January 2011, will reduce the upfront cost of eligible cars by 25% capped at £5,000. Available across the UK, the scheme will be open to both private consumers and business buyers. We will continue to monitor the most effective way to deliver support for consumer incentives, with the first review of the Plug-In Car Grant taking place in 2012;
	continued investment in electric vehicle recharging infrastructure through the 'Plugged in Places' scheme. The Government are committed to mandating a national recharging network for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Data derived from the Plugged-In Places programme will inform the design of a national network; and
	further investment in research and development activities supporting this next generation of vehicle technologies.

EU Efficiency Standards: Cars

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations he has received from oil companies regarding proposed EU efficiency standards for cars and vans; which companies made such representations; and what the content of the representations was.

Norman Baker: No representations have been received from oil companies regarding the proposed EU new van CO2 regulation or the existing EU new car CO2 regulation.

Great Western Railway

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he made of the cost to the public purse of maintaining the railway line connecting Exeter and Plymouth.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 9 November 2010
	The Government's High Level Output Specification sets the overall context for spending on the railway, but the maintenance of the railway is the responsibility of Network Rail. While Network Rail's accounts are scrutinised by the independent Office of Rail Regulation, the company does not currently provide information at the level of detail requested.

GRIP 4 Rail Studies

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many GRIP 4 rail studies his Department  (a) started and  (b) completed in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Theresa Villiers: The GRIP project development process is a delivery tool used by Network Rail. My hon. Friend may wish to contact Network Rail's acting chief executive at the following address for a response to his question:
	Peter Henderson
	Acting Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	Kings Place
	90 York Way
	London
	N1 9AG.

High Speed Two

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements he plans to make for consultation on the route of High Speed Two.

Philip Hammond: As set out in the Department for Transport's recently published Business Plan, the Government propose to consult on its strategy for high speed rail and on its proposed route for an initial line from London to the West Midlands between February and July 2011.
	Subject to the outcome of next year's consultation, the Government plan to consult on detailed routes for the second phase of the proposed high speed network, from Birmingham to Manchester and Birmingham to Leeds, in 2014.

Large Goods Vehicles: Accidents

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the incidence of the involvement of  (a) foreign-registered and  (b) all heavy goods vehicles in road traffic accidents in the latest period for which figures are available.

Michael Penning: The information requested can be found in table 53 on page 179 of "Reported Road Casualties Great Britain 2009", a copy of which is available in the Libraries of the House.

Large Goods Vehicles: Inspections

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals for road worthiness inspections of foreign road haulage vehicles entering and leaving the UK.

Michael Penning: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) already inspects a large number of foreign heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), both at ports of entry and at the roadside. In the year to 31 March 2010, VOSA conducted 99,508 roadworthiness checks on foreign-registered HGVs, an increase of more than 60% compared to 2008-09.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what plans he has for the future of the MOT test; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans he has to review the effectiveness of the MOT test system.

Michael Penning: holding answer s  13 and  18 October 2010
	I intend to review the MOT test scheme, using the latest information available. However, the Department for Transport has no specific proposals at this stage and no preconceptions about the outcome. The aim of the review will be to strike the right balance between vehicle safety and the burden imposed on motorists by MOT test requirements.
	I expect to make an announcement about the timing and scope of the review in due course and there will be an opportunity for anyone with an interest to contribute to the debate.

National Aviation Security Committee

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Statement by the Home Secretary on 1 November 2010,  Official Report, column 633, on the aviation security incident, whether he has  (a) met and  (b) plans to meet the National Aviation Security Committee on any occasion other than the high level industry meeting in the week of 1 November 2010.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 8 November 2010
	I have not met the National Aviation Security Committee. Several of the members of that Committee attended the high level industry meeting I held on 4 November 2010.
	The National Aviation Security Committee is next due to meet on 29 November 2010 and the Minister of State for Transport will be chairing this meeting on my behalf.

Network Rail: Public Footpaths

Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Network Rail plans to make formal arrangements for public access to the footpath it owns between Bourne park and Halifax road in respect of its location on Sustrans National Cycle Route 1.

Theresa Villiers: This is an operational matter for Network Rail as the owner and operator of the national rail network. My hon. Friend should contact Network Rail's acting chief executive at the following address for a response to his question:
	Peter Henderson
	Acting Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	Kings Place
	90 York Way
	London, N1 9AG.

Railways: Carbon Emissions

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the carbon dioxide emissions arising from High Speed 2 in circumstances in which it is operational at the train numbers and maintenance requirement levels referred to in the High Speed 2 report to his Department.

Philip Hammond: The overall level of carbon dioxide emissions from HS2 will depend critically on the carbon intensity of electricity generation at the time the railway became operational. The Government will seek to maximise potential carbon savings. HS2 Ltd calculate that the central case of the impact of the line on carbon emissions will be a reduction of 4.6 million tonnes of CO2 over the 60-year appraisal period, within a range of a reduction of 25 million tonnes to an increase of 26.6 million tonnes. This information is available in HS2 Ltd's main report, published in March 2010, and available at:
	www.dft.gov.uk/highspeedrail

Railways: Finance

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which rail capacity improvements he expects to fund as a result of proposed changes to the regulated rail fares formula.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 27 October 2010
	 The Government are committed to investment in Britain's railways and the comprehensive spending review announcement set out plans for the investment of £18 billion in rail. Raising the cap on regulated fares helps ensure that investment in rail can go forward during a period when the pressing need to tackle the deficit means that resources are constrained. Further announcements about specific investment in rail projects will be made in due course.

Railways: North West

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what timetable he has set for the planned rail electrification between Manchester, Liverpool, Preston and Blackpool foreseen in the outcome of the comprehensive spending review.

Theresa Villiers: On 20 October 2010,  Official Report, column 963, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that electrification of the lines between Manchester, Liverpool, Preston and Blackpool would go ahead. We are working with Network Rail to determine the timetable for the completion of these schemes, and will make an announcement in due course.

Railways: Stoke-on-Trent

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals for a direct high-speed rail link between London and Stoke-on-Trent.

Philip Hammond: On 4 October, I wrote to HS2 Ltd to confirm that it should continue to develop detailed route proposals for a high speed line from the west midlands to Manchester. A copy of my letter is available on the HS2 website at:
	www.hs2.org.uk
	In taking forward this work, the company will consider the case for intermediate stations between the two major conurbations. I have asked the company to report to me on its findings by December 2011.

Railways: Vale of Glamorgan

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for  (a) improvements and  (b) funding for improvements to the Vale of Glamorgan railway line.

Theresa Villiers: The provision of Vale of Glamorgan train services is a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government.
	Funding for major rail investments on the Barry to Cardiff line has been confirmed and work is proceeding. This investment will provide both increased line capacity and additional station platforms at Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Central by 2015, which will benefit the Vale of Glamorgan route.

Trams: Nottingham

Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria he plans to use to assess whether his Department's contribution to the proposed private finance initiative funding of the extensions to the Nottingham Tram system is affordable.

Norman Baker: The Government have announced their intention to support the Nottingham Express Transit Phase 2 PFI project, subject to affordability. The Department for Transport is now working closely with Nottingham city council to progress the scheme on an affordable basis. This could include making efficiency savings to the project itself or through an increase in local funding contributions, or a combination of both of these. The Council is currently developing a range of options for further consideration. The Department is determined to ensure that every pound of departmental funding spent on transport projects yields the maximum benefit.

Transport: Schools

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 9 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 282-83W, on schools: transport, how many school travel advisers funded by his Department there are in each local authority area.

Norman Baker: Together with the Department for Education, the Department for Transport has provided sufficient funding through area-based grants in each of the past six years to enable local authorities in England to employ about 250 full-time equivalent school travel advisers (STAs).
	However, we do not know how many STAs are employed in each local authority area and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service: Personnel

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Attorney-General how many staff were employed at each grade in the Crown Prosecution Service in each year since 2005.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) employed the following numbers of staff at the grades shown for the years 2005-10:
	
		
			  CPS grade  CS grade  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010 
			 Al AA 915 970 927 755 335 260 
			 A2 AO 1.803 1,927 2,036 1,914 2,256 2,280 
			 B1 EO 1.651 1,655 1,698 1,809 1,777 1,849 
			 B2 HEO 608 637 771 837 411 447 
			 Associate Prosecutor HEO - - - - 447 466 
			 B3 SEO 113 108 123 127 157 186 
			 C1 SEO 320 252 187 - - - 
			 Crown Prosecutor SEO - - - 120 107 80 
			 C2 G7 1.995 2,174 2,336 - - - 
			 Senior Crown Prosecutor G7 - - - 1,855 1,662 1,643 
			 Crown Advocate G7 - - - 538 853 880 
			 D G7 431 446 474 467 426 453 
			 E G6 149 147 153 146 146 199 
			 Senior Crown Advoc. G6 - - - 10 28 42 
			 Principal Crown Advoc. G6 - - - 5 6 10 
			 Chief Crown Prosecutor SCS 49 49 43 52 49 50 
			 SCS (inc. G1 Perm. Secretary) SCS 27 28 29 30 33 37 
			 Total  8,061 8,393 8,777 8,665 8,693 8,882

Crown Prosecution Service: Personnel

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Attorney-General what the attrition rate was of Crown Prosecution Service employees in each of the last three years.

Dominic Grieve: The annual attrition rate for Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) employees for each of the last three years, covering the period October to September for each respective year is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   % 
			 2008 9.66 
			 2009 7.65 
			 2010 9.68

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officer's Departments spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in each of the last 10 years.

Dominic Grieve: There has been no expenditure made by the Law Officer's Departments on such services during the last 10 years.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Benefit: Lone Income

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many single income families with a household income between £43,875 and £50,000 are in receipt of child benefit in respect of  (a) one child,  (b) two children,  (c) three children and  (d) four or more children.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
	In 2010-11 it is estimated that there were 40,000 families with a single income between £43,875 and £50,000 in receipt of child benefit.
	The split between numbers of children is not available.

Children: Maintenance

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in transferring clients of the Child Support Agency under the pre-2002 scheme to the current scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to my hon. Friend with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in transferring clients of the Child Support Agency under the pre-2002 scheme to the current scheme; and if he will make a statement.
	The problems encountered by the Child Support Agency following the launch of the Reforms in 2003 resulted in a decision to defer the bulk transfer of cases from the old scheme (launched in 1993), to the current scheme (launched in 2003). In the meantime, cases are only migrated from the old computer system to the new computer system where they had a link with a case on the new system that made this necessary.
	This decision was kept under review and in February 2006 the previous Government asked Sir David Henshaw to review the entire system of child maintenance. His subsequent report led to the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008, which makes provision for a new system of child maintenance known as the "future scheme".
	The Government continues to develop plans for a future scheme that is intended to replace both the existing schemes. As set out in the Department for Work and Pensions' business plan, the Government is currently considering the scope of existing plans for child maintenance and future delivery and this stage of work will last until February 2011.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Disability Benefits: East Lothian

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in East Lothian constituency receive  (a) disability living allowance,  (b) incapacity benefit and  (c) employment and support allowance.

Maria Miller: The information available is in the table.
	
		
			  Claimants of employment support allowance, disability living allowance and incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance, East Lothian parliamentary constituency 
			  Benefit  Number 
			 Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance 3,490 
			 Disability living allowance (in payment) 5,300 
			 Employment and support allowance 710 
			  Notes:  1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  2. For disability living allowance the totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance.  3. A claimant can be in receipt of more than one of these benefits and will therefore be counted for each benefit they receive.  4. Incapacity benefit was replaced by employment support allowance from October 2008.  5. Constituencies used are for the Westminster Parliament of May 2010.   Source:  DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study as at February 2010.

Disability Living Allowance: Care Homes

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of disability living allowance of each sex who were in residential care were in receipt of  (a) the mobility component at the (i) higher and (ii) lower rate and  (b) the care component at the (A) higher, (B) middle and (C) lower rate in 2009-10.

Maria Miller: Reliable estimates of total Disability Living Allowance claimants in residential care homes are not available as we are unable to identify accurately DLA claimants who meet the full cost of their residential care.

Disability Living Allowance: Care Homes

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people in residential homes and colleges in  (a) each Parliamentary constituency,  (b) Scotland,  (c) England,  (d) Wales and  (e) Northern Ireland who will be affected by the proposed removal of the mobility element of disability living allowance; and what estimate he has made of the average reduction in payments to such individuals.

Maria Miller: Reliable estimates of disability living allowance claimants in residential care homes are not available other than on a Great Britain wide basis. Information for Northern Ireland cannot be provided as social security is a devolved matter for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Assembly. We estimate approximately 60,000 people who claim disability living allowance and live in residential care will be affected by this measure in Great Britain.
	The disability living allowance mobility component is paid at a lower rate of £18.95 and a higher rate of £49.85. Of the 60,000 recipients affected by the measure, approximately 30,000 are currently paid the lower rate and 30,000 are paid the higher rate.

Disability Living Allowance: Care Homes

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to publish an impact assessment of the effects on the removal of the mobility element of disability living allowance for people in residential homes and colleges.

Maria Miller: The Equality Impact Assessment for removing the mobility component of disability living allowance from state funded care home residents after 28 days is still being completed and will be published shortly.

Employment and Support Allowance

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people he estimates will claim  (a) employment and support allowance (ESA) and  (b) contributory ESA in 2014 who (i) will cite mental health issues as the primary reason for claiming and (ii) will previously have claimed incapacity benefit.

Maria Miller: The requested information will partly be available on 29 November 2010 alongside the autumn statement and will be deposited in the Library. We will be able to provide estimates of  (a) the number of people who will claim employment support allowance (ESA),  (b) contributory ESA and (ii) whether they have previously claimed IB.
	While we do not produce forecasts by medical condition and therefore cannot provide an estimate for 2004, the Department does record the primary health condition of people currently claiming ESA. As a broad indicator, at February 2010 the ESA case load was 479,000. Of these 183,000 reported mental and behavioural disorders as their primary health condition.

Employment and Support Allowance

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of claimants of contributory employment and support allowance under the work-related activity group in 2014 who have previously claimed incapacity benefit.

Maria Miller: The requested information will be available on 29 November 2010 alongside the autumn statement and will be deposited in the Library. We will provide estimates at this time.

Employment and Support Allowance

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of contributory employment and support allowance in the support group there are; and how many in that group cite a mental health condition as the primary reason to claim.

Maria Miller: The number of contributory employment and support allowance claimants under the mental and behavioural disorders category by stage of claim-February 2010-can be found in the following table.
	The table firstly gives information on the total ESA caseload and those who have a contributory element to their award. Beneath that it provides the numbers of those specifically with a mental/behavioural health condition and whether they fall into the ESA phase of assessment, work-related activity group or support group. These are also broken down further to show the number of these who have a contributory element to their award.
	The ESA phase is derived from payment details held on the source system. Where the claimant is not in receipt of any benefit payment, but receiving national insurance credits, then the stage of benefit is shown as unknown.
	
		
			 Stage of claim 
			   All  Unknown  Assessment  Support group  Work related group 
			 All ESA claimants 479,430 55,570 312,330 30,610 80,910 
			 ESA claimants with a contributory element 203,680 90 143,430 17,090 43,070 
			   
			  Mental and Behavioural category  
			 All ESA claimants 182,880 17,310 124,740 9,130 31,700 
			 ESA claimants with a contributory element 62,120 - 46,190 3,190 12,740 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. ESA statistics by medical condition can be found at http://83.244.183.180/ESA/esa_additional_feb10.xls 3. Benefit type: The type of ESA is defined as pay status at the caseload date. This may differ to the status at the start or end of the claim. 4. Employment and support allowance (ESA) replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid. 5. Stage of ESA claim: The stage of claim is derived from the amount of payment a claimant receives. There are a number of cases where the stage is unknown, these are claimants which do not receive any payment for ESA (These are those who receive national insurance credits only). 6. ICD (disease) code: Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation. Medical condition is based on evidence provided at the start of the claim, this in itself does not confer entitlement to employment support allowance and may not represent a claimant's most recent medical condition. For ESA claimants data on medical condition are only available from February 2010 onwards.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100%

Employment and Support Allowance: East Lothian

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in East Lothian constituency have received employment and support allowance payments for more than one year.

Maria Miller: The information available is in the table.
	
		
			  Claimants of employment and support allowance, East Lothian parliamentary constituency 
			   Number 
			 Claimants 710 
			 Duration of over one year 80 
			  Notes:  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Some additional disclosure control has also been applied.  2. Figures are compiled using 2010 parliamentary constituency boundaries.  3. Employment and support allowance replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008.  4. Data include those receiving "credits only".   Source:  DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100% data as at February 2010.

Housing Benefit

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made an estimate of  (a) the number of households in each constituency which will be affected by increasing the age threshold for the shared room rate rules from 25 to 35 years,  (b) the average amount of local housing allowance such households would lose if they do not move home,  (c) the average combined effects on the income of such households of losing their entitlement to a one bedroom property and reduction of their local housing allowance to the thirtieth percentile of local rents and  (d) the number of (i) men and (ii) women who will be affected by the increase.

Steve Webb: We will publish a document on the impacts of the proposed changes to the shared room rate in due course. This will include information at the local authority level.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the percentage change in local housing allowance rates has been for each category of house in each local authority area in each month since the allowance's inception.

Steve Webb: This information is only available at the broad rental market area level. A copy of the available information has been placed in the Library.

Housing Benefit

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of housing benefit in each constituency in the last 12 months; and what the monetary value of the average weekly award was.

Steve Webb: The information is not available. At present geographic breakdowns are only available for local authorities and government office regions. However, an exercise is being undertaken to add other geographical areas to the data, which will include parliamentary constituencies.

Incapacity Benefit: Medical Examinations

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many decisions to reject applications for incapacity benefit based on medical examinations were overturned on appeal in  (a) Wansbeck constituency,  (b) Northumberland and  (c) the UK in the last 12 months.

Maria Miller: Please note the information requested is not available at a constituency level. Between October 2009 and September 2010 there have been:
	 (b) 240 incapacity benefit (IB) appeals that have found in favour of the appellant in the Northumberland unitary authority and;
	 (c) 14,600 IB appeals that have found in favour of the appellant in the UK.
	All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. This information is taken from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions and appeals data sourced from the Tribunals Service covering appeals heard up to September 2010.

Poverty: Children

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of children in  (a) absolute poverty,  (b) relative poverty and  (c) combined material deprivation and low income in Birmingham, Hall Green constituency.

Maria Miller: Estimates of the number and proportion of children living in poverty are published in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.
	As they are based on survey data, child poverty estimates published in HBAI only allow breakdowns to Government Office Region and analysis by Parliamentary constituency is not possible. However, figures for the West Midlands are set out in Table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number and percentage of children living in (a) relative poverty before housing costs (BHC) (b) absolute poverty (BHC) and (c) combined material deprivation and low income in the West Midlands, before housing costs 
			   Number of children (million) and percentage 
			   Relative poverty  Absolute poverty  Combined material deprivation and low income 
			  Period  Number  (%)  Number  (%)  Number  (%) 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.3 29 0.2 17 0.2 21 
			  Notes: 1. These statistics are based on households below average income (HBAI) data sourced from the 2008-09 Family Resources Survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 2. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 3. The reference period for households below average income figures are single financial years. Three survey years have been combined as regional single year estimates are subject to volatility. 4. Numbers of children in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000, while proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. 5. These statistics are based on incomes Before Housing Costs. 6. Each of the measures is defined as: Relative poverty: percentage of children living in households with less than 60% of contemporary median household income. Absolute poverty: percentage of children living in households with less than 60% of 1998-99 median household income held constant in real terms. Low income and material deprivation: percentage of children living in households in material deprivation and with less than 70 per cent of contemporary median household income.  Source:  Households below average income, DWP

Shared Housing: East Lothian

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made an estimate of  (a) the number of households in East Lothian constituency which will be affected by increasing the age threshold for the shared room rate rules from 25 to 35 years,  (b) the average amount of local housing allowance such households would lose if they do not move home,  (c) the average combined effects on the income of such households of losing their entitlement to a one bedroom property and reduction of their local housing allowance to the thirtieth percentile of local rents and  (d) the number of (i) men and (ii) women who will be affected by increasing the age threshold for the shared room rate rules from 25 to 35 years in such households in East Lothian constituency.

Steve Webb: We will publish a document on the impacts of the proposed changes to the shared room rate in due course. This will include information at the local authority level.

Social Security Benefits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to encourage people to take up their benefit entitlements.

Steve Webb: The latest estimates of take-up of all income-related benefits in 2008-09 were published in June 2010. The figures show that there was £38.1 billion claimed across all income related benefits representing between around 75% and 85% take-up by expenditure. The take-up report is available on line at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=irb_2
	We want to make sure that everyone is getting all of the help that they are entitled to which is why the Department makes information available in various locations including doctors' surgeries, welfare rights groups and Jobcentre Plus offices to ensure that people are aware of the benefits to which they may be entitled and how to claim them. Information on benefits is also available on the Department's website:
	http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm
	With the introduction of universal credit from October 2013, which will replace six working age means tested benefits; people will be better placed to find out what benefits they can get.

Social Security Benefits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has plans to increase internet access for benefit claimants.

Chris Grayling: The Department is committed to providing accessible and attractive online services for our customers and we have plans in place to deliver more and more of our services online. We recognise that some customers do not have access to the internet and so are working with a range of partners to provide information to customers on where and how to get internet access.
	Jobcentre Plus has recently introduced Digital Champions in every Jobcentre. Their role is to promote digital take up and to find what support is available locally for customers to get online through partner organisations and share this information with colleagues to help and encourage customers to get online.
	In addition, DWP is helping residents in sheltered housing schemes to benefit from access to equipment, training and support to get online. By the end of March 2011, 196 sheltered housing schemes will have received funding for digital equipment.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department had spent on telephone voice analysis to detect fraudulent benefit claims on the latest date for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: In 2008-09 a total of £1,734,314.07 was paid directly to the 24 local authorities involved in voice risk analysis pilots. There was no DWP funding for voice risk analysis in subsequent years. The Department has discontinued interest in voice risk analysis.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of his Department budget for 2011-12 will be allocated to voice analysis for benefit fraud detection purposes.

Chris Grayling: No funding has been allocated to voice analysis for benefit fraud detection purposes in 2011-12. The Department has discontinued interest in voice risk analysis.

Work Capability Assessment

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department takes to ensure prompt resolution of appeals against the outcomes of work capability assessments.

Chris Grayling: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State for Work and for Pensions has asked me to reply to your question regarding the steps his Department takes to ensure appeals against the outcomes of work capability assessments are resolved promptly. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus has recently undertaken successful trials in Wrexham to improve the handling of appeals arising from Work Capability Assessment (WCA) decisions. This improved process has now been rolled out nationally and involves Appeals Officers in Jobcentre Plus making contact by telephone with all customers who wish to challenge their WCA decision. This provides an opportunity to explain the reasons for reaching the decision and to explore further the grounds for challenging the decision. It also provides an opportunity to obtain any relevant new information and to explain to the customer whether, in the light of all the evidence now available, it is appropriate to revise the decision. The success of the Wrexham trial suggests this improvement will have an effect in further reducing the volume of appeals.
	Where the discussion with the customer reveals that it is not appropriate to change the original decision, the customer may decide to proceed to appeal. In these cases, customers are advised that the appeal will be sent to the Tribunal Service who are responsible for arranging a date and time for hearing the appeal.
	Jobcentre Plus continues to work closely with the Tribunal Service to identify how further efficiencies and quicker processing of Employment Support Allowance (ESA) appeals can be achieved.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Work Capability Assessment: Mental Health

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have undergone mental health assessments in connection with work capability assessments in  (a) England and  (b) Gloucestershire in the last year for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: Almost all ESA claimants undergo a Work Capability Assessment (the exception being those who are known to be terminally ill), although this does not always involve a face-to-face assessment and is sometimes based on the paper evidence available. All claimants are assessed against the same set of descriptors, laid out in legislation, which cover physical functions and mental, intellectual and cognitive functions.
	For the year to the end of June 2010, 353,100 assessments have been carried out in England. In the same period, 4,400 assessments have been completed in Gloucestershire.
	Gloucestershire has been taken as the combination of the local authorities of Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, South Gloucestershire, Stroud and Tewkesbury.

Work Programme

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what role he expects voluntary groups to play in the Work Programme.

Chris Grayling: The voluntary sector has a wide range of skills and experience that it will be vital to harness if the Work Programme is to be successful. We have been actively encouraging potential sub-contractors, including those from the voluntary sector, to engage with potential prime contractors nationwide.
	We are also ensuring that we protect smaller voluntary organisations by requiring prime contractors to meet the award winning Merlin standard, an independent accreditation of the arrangements between a prime contractor and their sub-contractors/partners.

EDUCATION

School Sports

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the likely effects on the future of sport in schools of the reductions in funding for school sport proposed in the comprehensive spending review.

Tim Loughton: The planned changes in the Department's expenditure on school sport beginning in 2011-12 will enable us to deliver on our coalition Government commitment to create an annual Olympic-style school sport event to encourage more competitive sport in schools.

Academies

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to extend the acceptance criteria for schools wishing to convert to academy status; and what new criteria he is considering.

Nick Gibb: Currently only those schools judged as outstanding by Ofsted can apply to convert to become academies. However, we do want the benefits and freedoms that academy status brings to be available to many more schools. An announcement will be made shortly about when the next group of schools will be invited to apply, and what criteria will be used to determine that group. Ofsted inspection judgments will continue to form an important part of the process.

Booktrust Scheme

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what future plans he has for the funding of Booktrust; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: The Department for Education's overall funding settlement was announced on 20 October. We are working through the details of that settlement and the funding implications for individual policy and programmes, including the funding of Booktrust. We will make further announcements over the coming weeks.

Capital Investment

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what timetable he has set for the James review of capital investment.

Nick Gibb: The capital review announced by the Secretary of State on 5 July 2010 will conclude its work by the end of this calendar year. We intend to determine capital allocations as soon as possible thereafter.

Children in Care

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of children in care were adopted in each of the last five years.

Tim Loughton: The requested information is available as part of the "Statistical First Release, Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England (including adoption and care leavers)-year ending 31 March 2010". This can be found at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000960/index.shtml
	Information on the number and proportion of children looked after who were adopted in each of the last five years is found in table D1. These tables can be found in the excel link titled 'England Summary tables'.

Children in Care

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children were  (a) taken into care (excluding respite care),  (b) left care and  (c) were adopted in each year from 1980 to 2005; how many left care through adoption in each such year; and how many were in care on 31 March in each such year.

Tim Loughton: The information requested on  (a) the number of children taken into care (excluding respite care) from 1980 to 2005 can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. Information on the number of children who were taken into care was published for the first time in 2010. This table shows information for year ending 31 March 2006 to 2010 and can be found in table C4 (in the excel link titled "England Summary tables") available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000960/index.shtml
	Information on the number of children  (b) who left care,  (c) who were adopted and the number who were in care on 31 March can be found via the "Children Looked After" publications, as follows:
	"Children Looked After by Local Authorities Year ending 31 March 1998", England available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000506/index.shtml
	Table A: Number of children who were looked after at 31 March for year ending 31 March 1988 to 1998.
	Table H: Number of looked-after children adopted during year ending 31 March 1994 to 1998.
	"Children Looked After by Local Authorities Year ending 31 March 2001", England available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000509/index.shtml
	Table S: Number of children who ceased to be looked after during the year ending 31 March 1997 to 2001 by duration of latest period of care.
	Table H: Number of looked-after children adopted during the year ending 31 March 1997 to 2001.
	"Children Looked After by Local Authorities, Year Ending 31 March 2005" available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000646/index.shtml
	Table AB: Children who ceased to be looked after during the year ending 31 March 2001 to 2005 by gender and age on ceasing.
	Table AM: Looked-after children adopted during the year ending 31 March by gender, age at adoption, final legal status, duration of final period of care, age on starting final period of care and time between best interest decision and placement for adoption, 2001 to 2005.
	Both of these tables can be found in the additional information titled "Volume 1-National Tables".
	Number of children looked after at 31 March by local authority, 1997 to 2005. This can be found in the additional information spreadsheet titled "Children looked after at 31 March by local authorities, 1997 to 2005".
	Information on the number of children looked after at 31 March is not available prior to 1988. Information on the number of children who ceased to be looked after prior to 1997 and information on the number of looked-after children adopted prior to 1994 can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	Historical data in the above statistical releases may differ from that included in older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials.

Children's Centres: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many child care places are available in children's centres in Warrington North constituency; and how many Government-funded places at such centres will be available at the end of the comprehensive spending review period.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 27 October 2010
	The Department does not collect data on the number of child care places available in Sure Start Children's Centres at a constituency or a local authority level. Local authorities have a duty under the Childcare Act 2006 to secure sufficient child care, where reasonably practicable, for working parents in their area. As part of the spending review settlement, the Government announced that they will be extending 15 hours per week of free early education to the most disadvantaged two-year-olds, building on the current 15 hour free entitlement for all three and four-year-olds. We expect 130,000 two-year-olds to benefit from this extension by the end of the spending review period.

Clergy

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many times since 12 May 2010 Ministers in his Department have met with representatives of the  (a) Church of England,  (b) Church of England's Education Division,  (c) National Society,  (d) Catholic Church in England and Wales,  (e) Catholic Education Service,  (f) Catholic Diocesan Schools Commission,  (g) Catholic Association of Teachers Schools and Colleges,  (h) Methodist Church,  (i) Methodist Education,  (j) Muslim Council of Britain,  (k) Board of Deputies of British Jews,  (l) Agency for Jewish Education,  (m) Accord Coalition,  (n) British Humanist Association and  (o) National Secular Society.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 25 October 2010
	The following table gives details of the number of occasions Ministers at the Department for Education have held meetings at the Department with representatives of the faith related organisations listed since 12 May 2010.
	
		
			  Organisation  Total number of meetings 
			 Church of England, Church of England's Education Division, The National Society 3 
			 Catholic Church in England and Wales, Catholic Education Service for England and Wales 3 
			 Catholic Diocesan Schools Commission 0 
			 Catholic Association of Teachers Schools and Colleges 0 
			 Methodist Church, Methodist Education 0 
			 Muslim Council of Britain 0 
			 Board of Deputies of British Jews 2 
			 Agency for Jewish Education 0 
			 Accord Coalition 0 
			 British Humanist Association 0 
			 National Secular Society 0

Departmental Redundancy

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how much funding to meet staff redundancy costs was identified in his Department's settlement letter in respect of the comprehensive spending review;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of staff redundancy in each of the next four years.

Tim Loughton: All pressures on Departments' budgets were taken into account as part of the spending review and settlements were allocated accordingly. The full costs of redundancies will be met from within the Department's spending review resource DEL settlement.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment his Department has made of the likely effects on young people from poor backgrounds of the ending of educational maintenance allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The education maintenance allowance (EMA) scheme will close at the end of the 2010/11 academic year. Evaluation evidence from the EMA pilots as well as more recent research suggests that around 90% of recipients would have stayed on after 16 even if they had not received EMA. We are replacing EMA with an enhanced learner support fund, which will enable closer targeting of resources on the most disadvantaged young people. Schools and colleges will be able to target support towards those young people who would not otherwise be able to participate because of serious financial barriers.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for student support following the ending of education maintenance allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The education maintenance allowance scheme will close at the end of the 2010/11 academic year and no new applications will be processed from 1 January 2011. It will be replaced by an enhanced Discretionary Learner Support Fund. Decisions about which young people should receive financial support from the Discretionary Learner Support Fund will be made by schools, colleges and training providers, who are in a better position than Government to determine the needs of individual students. They will target support to those young people who most need it to continue in learning.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Greater London

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students in  (a) Tottenham constituency and  (b) Haringey received education maintenance allowance in each year since 2004-05; and how much was paid in that allowance to pupils in each such area in each such year.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener the YPLA's chief executive, will write to the right hon. Member for Tottenham with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Greater London

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people resident in  (a) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency,  (b) Tower Hamlets and  (c) London have received the education maintenance allowance in each year since its inception.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener, the YPLA's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for Bethnal Green and Bow with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Public Expenditure

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what expenditure his Department incurred on education maintenance allowance in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10; and what forecast he has made of such expenditure in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) each of the subsequent four years.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 25 October 2010
	 The total expenditure on EMA in 2008-09 was £532 million and in 2009-10 it was £569 million. The budget for 2010-11 is £564 million. We estimate that around £174 million will be spent on EMA in the 2011-12 financial year (as a proportion of payments to young people participating in the academic year 2010/11 fall in the financial year 2011-12). The EMA scheme will cease at the end of the 2010/11 academic year.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Staffordshire

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on education maintenance allowance payments in  (a) Tamworth and  (b) Staffordshire in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener the YPLA's chief executive, will write to my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Education: Finance

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the HM Treasury press notice on 2010-11 savings of 24 May 2010, what definition of frontline funding his Department uses; and how much he plans to allocate to frontline funding for schools in 2011-12.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 19 October 2010
	The core school baselines we are protecting are: funds allocated for one to one tuition; funds allocated for "every child" programmes such as Every Child a Reader; extended schools; school lunch grant; School Standards Grant; School Development Grant; Specialist schools grant; Ethnic Minority Achievement grant; The National Strategies' budgets that were allocated to schools; Dedicated Schools Grant, and funds allocated for Academies.
	The total planned schools budget for 2011-12 is £36.1 billion.

Education: Finance

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department issues to local education authorities on reduction of their schools budgets.

Nick Gibb: Following the spending review, funding for the schools budget will increase in cash terms by £3.6 billion by 2014-15. This is a 0.1% increase in real terms in each year. The management of the schools budget by local authorities is governed by the School Finance (England) Regulations: guidance is issued along with the regulations. The Department is currently consulting on new regulations to come into force in April 2011.

Family and Parenting Institute

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to review the  (a) work programme and (b) budget of the Family and Parenting Institute; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 2 November 2010
	Family and Parenting Institute have a long-standing financial relationship with the Department and their work programme is regularly reviewed. We have announced the overall funding settlement for the Department for Education, but we are still in the process of determining what this means for specific activities including future funding for activities undertaken by the Family and Parenting Institute. We will make further announcements about funding for specific programmes and organisations over the coming weeks.

Family Rights Group: Finance

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department plans to provide to the Family Rights Advice Service in each year of the 2010 spending review period.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 12 November 2010
	 We have announced the overall funding settlement for the Department for Education, but we are still in the process of determining what this means for specific activities, including future funding for any family rights advice service in England. We will make further announcements about funding for specific programmes over the coming weeks.

Free Schools

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what qualifications teachers employed by free schools will be required to have.

Michael Gove: Innovation, diversity and flexibility are at the heart of the free schools policy. We want the dynamism that characterises the best independent schools to drive up standards in the state sector. In this spirit we will not be setting overly prescriptive requirements in relation to qualifications; instead we will expect business cases to demonstrate how governing bodies intend to guarantee the highest quality of teaching and leadership in their schools. No school will be allowed to proceed unless its proposals for quality teaching are soundly based. Ensuring each free school's unique educational vision is translated into the classroom will require brilliant people with a diverse range of experience.

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in the last 24 months.

Tim Loughton: Department for Education financial records show that between October 2008 and October 2010 the Department spent £736,000 on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Playgrounds: Construction

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to announce his decision on the future of support for Playbuilder schemes; and if he will take steps to ensure that support for local community groups operating such schemes is maintained at no less than present levels.

Sarah Teather: Decisions have now been taken on savings to the 2010-11 play capital budget. A total of £20.8 million has been saved from this years play budget, reducing the original figure from £75 million to £54.2 million.
	Revised allocations for this year have been communicated to local authorities. All local authorities will receive almost two-thirds of their original allocation. We have also provided additional funding to 49 local authorities who have contractual commitments that would otherwise exceed their revised allocation.
	One of the big successes of the play programme has been the involvement of community groups in helping to improve the availability and quality of local play areas, and we want this level of community engagement to continue. We also recognise the huge efforts of local authorities, partner agencies, the play sector and industry in improving facilities for children across the country.
	For the future, the Government want to give local people more control over what local money is spent on, and what gets built where, to make the most of the limited resources available. Play England will be providing specific advice and help to communities and local authorities in the current financial year.

Playgrounds: Finance

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to take final decisions on the funding of Playbuilder projects.

Sarah Teather: Decisions have now been taken on savings to the 2010-11 play capital budget. A total of £20.8 million has been saved from this years play budget, reducing the original figure from £75 million to £54.2 million.
	The Department wrote to local authorities in July asking them to give us information on the status of their 2010-11 play projects. We said the Department would cover the cost of play areas which local authorities had already completed this year or where groundwork had already started and, subject to affordability, ensure that local authorities did not need to break any contractual commitments they had already entered into.
	I am pleased to be able to report that we have been able to achieve this aim. All local authorities will receive almost two-thirds of their original allocations and we have also provided additional funding to 49 authorities who have contractual commitments that would otherwise exceed their revised allocation.
	The Secretary of State has written to local authorities informing them of the completion of the savings exercise, notifying them of their revised play capital funding allocations for this financial year and reminding them that the ring-fence has been removed from this grant in order to provide local authorities with more flexibility to manage their own local budgets.
	It is now for local authorities and their partners to make decisions on which local projects progress. There will be no centrally made judgement on which individual projects progress.

Pre-school Education: North West

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many three-year-olds attended pre-school education in the  (a) maintained,  (b) private and  (c) voluntary sector as a proportion of the total number of eligible children in each super output area in the North West in the latest period for which figures are available.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 25 October 2010
	The total number of three-year-olds attending pre-school education in the north-west region is given in the table. Numbers for each super output area in the north-west region have been placed in the Libraries.
	
		
			  Number of three-year-old children( 1, 2 ) attending pre-school education maintained( 3) , private( 4) , voluntary and independent providers, north-west region, January 2010 
			  Type of provider  Number( 5) 
			 Maintained schools(2, 3) 36,730 
			 Private providers(4) 2,140 
			 Voluntary providers 33,270 
			 Independent schools(2) 9,200 
			 Total 81,330 
			 (1) Children aged three as at 31 December 2009.  (2) Number of three-year-olds may include some children aged two.  (3) Includes maintained nursery, primary, and special schools.  (4) Includes childminder networks, local authority day nurseries, private providers and other providers.  (5 )Numbers rounded to nearest 10.   Source:  Early Years Census 2010 and School Census 2010. 
		
	
	Figures are usually reported for private, voluntary, and independent providers as well as maintained schools. Therefore figures for independent schools have been included in the answer for completeness.
	The number of three-year-olds attending pre-school education as a proportion of the eligible children is not available. Since all children are entitled to Early Years provision, the proportion would be based on the total three-year-old population in each area. However, ONS population estimates are not available on a comparable basis to the data used in the answer and population estimates are not accurate at the low level of super output area.
	The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release (SFR) 16/2010 "Provision for children under five years of age in England: January 2010", available on the Department's website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000935/index.shtml

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  whether local education authorities will have discretion in passing on the pupil premium to schools;
	(2)  what the monetary value of the pupil premium will be per qualifying pupil in each year to 2014-15; and what account he plans to take of geographic location in determining the level of that premium;
	(3)  how much he plans to spend on the pupil premium in each year to 2014-15;
	(4)  whether local education authorities will continue to receive funding for education welfare services and services for pupils with special educational needs following the introduction of the pupil premium;
	(5)  when he plans to announce the criteria to be used to determine the pupils to qualify for the pupil premium.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 4 November 2010
	The Government held a public consultation from 26 July to 18 October on school funding for 2011-12 and the introduction of the pupil premium, covering the methodology for allocation of the premium.
	We set out in the consultation document that the conditions of grant for the pupil premium will require local authorities to pass it on in its entirety to maintained mainstream schools using specific defined per pupil amounts, for every relevant pupil in years from reception to year 11.
	We are currently considering responses to the consultation and will make a statement on the outcome shortly.
	The pupil premium will rise progressively to £2.5 billion over the spending review period. We will announce the pupil premium allocations for 2011-12 before the end of the year.
	There is no specific earmarked funding for education welfare services. Councils fund these services from a combination of formula grant and council tax. It is for councils to decide how much they wish to spend on these services. Services for pupils with special educational needs will continue to be funded through the dedicated schools grant in 2011-12.
	We will announce further information about the pupil premium before the end of the year.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to reduce the attainment gap between pupils from affluent and poor backgrounds in  (a) Croydon South constituency and  (b) England.

Sarah Teather: Reducing the attainment gap between pupils from affluent and poor backgrounds is at the heart of our policy for school improvement, in Croydon South, as elsewhere.
	On 15 October, we announced a £7.2 billion Fairness Premium, including a Pupil Premium for schools. The Pupil Premium will target extra funding at the most disadvantaged pupils wherever they live, reducing educational inequalities and ensuring that poorer students receive the support they need to reach their potential.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of children in  (a) Kingswood constituency and  (b) England who will receive the proposed pupil premium.

Sarah Teather: We are considering the responses to the consultation on school funding which ended on 18 October, including the question of which deprivation indicator to use. The number of children eligible, either in a constituency or in England as a whole, will depend on this decision.

Qualifications and Credit Framework

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the future of the Qualifications and Credit Framework.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 28 October 2010
	The Department has asked Professor Alison Wolf to carry out an independent review of vocational education. As part of her review Professor Wolf will examine the organisation and funding of vocational education, which will include consideration of the Qualifications and Credit Framework in relation to qualifications for 14 to 19-year-olds She will report in spring 2011.

School Leaving

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of raising the participation age to 18 years in  (a) 2013,  (b) 2014 and  (c) 2015.

Nick Gibb: We are still determining the levels of funding for 16 to 18-year-olds for the years of the spending review period. We remain committed to raising the participation age to 18 by 2015, although reductions in the unit cost of provision will need to be secured. Our aim is to announce the details of the 16-19 settlement and any changes to funding policy that will help deliver this before Christmas and make allocations for the 2011/12 academic year by the end of March 2011.

School Leaving: Finance

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he made of the annual cost to the Exchequer of continuing the September School Leaver's Guarantee.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 11 October 2010
	 The Government committed to continue the September Guarantee in 2010, offering all 16 and 17-year-olds a suitable place in education or training. The associated cost to the Exchequer of continuing the Guarantee is the funding provided for those education and training places. Funding for 16-19 education is set out in the Young People's Learning Agency's Grant Letter. In 2010-11, just under £7.2 billion has been allocated for places in schools, colleges and training providers for education and training for 16 to 18-year-olds in the 2010/11 academic year. This total funding provides places for 16, 17 and 18-year-olds, while the September Guarantee covers only 16 and 17-year-olds.
	Following the spending review, we announced that we remain committed to full participation and to raising the participation age to 18 by 2015. We aim to announce the details of the 16-19 settlement before Christmas and make allocations for the 2011/12 academic year by the end of March 2011.

Schools: Admissions

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on permitting  (a) academies and  (b) other schools to control their admissions policies.

Nick Gibb: Admissions policies are set and applied locally by admission authorities. For community and voluntary-controlled schools, this is the local authority. For foundation and voluntary-aided schools, this is the governing body. Academies are responsible for agreeing their own admission policies with the Secretary of State.
	Maintained schools, local authorities, Admission Forums and school adjudicators must all act in accordance with the School Admissions Code which has the force of law for maintained schools. For Academies, compliance is through a contractual duty within their funding agreements.
	All local authorities are required to have in place a scheme each year for co-ordinating admission arrangements for maintained schools in their area. Academies are required, through their funding agreement, to take part in co-ordination.

Schools: Construction

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of his Department's capital expenditure on new school buildings in the next spending review period.

Nick Gibb: DfE has received a capital allocation of £15.8 billion for 2011-12 to 2014-15. The overall prioritisation and distribution of this funding will be informed by the capital review, which is due to report at the end of the year.

Schools: Energy

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many school buildings constructed under the Building Schools for the Future programme received an  (a) A,  (b) B,  (c) C,  (d) D,  (e) E,  (f) F and  (g) G grade Display Energy Certificate; how many have yet to be so graded; and what proportion of buildings in the school estate are at each energy efficiency grade.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not hold data on how many school buildings constructed under the BSF programme received an A, B, C, D, E, F, and G grade Display Energy Certificate, how many have yet to be so graded and what proportion of buildings in the schools estate are at each energy efficiency grade. This information is not held centrally and is held by the individual schools. Display Energy Certificates are required under the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and it is the responsibility of the building owner to ensure that they are carried out.

Westgate School Newcastle: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 6 September 2010,  Official Report, column 357W, on Westgate School Newcastle, when he plans to determine whether the funding allocated by Newcastle's capital fund to Westgate Primary School in 2008 will continue.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 9 November 2010
	 Decisions about future capital funding including funding for primary schools will be determined in the light of the capital review announced by the Secretary of State on 5 July 2010. The capital review team will complete its work by the end of the calendar year.
	In the comprehensive spending review (CSR) announcement on 20 October 2010, the Chancellor announced that DfE capital spending will be:
	
		
			   £ billion 
			 2011-12 4.9 
			 2012-13 4.2 
			 2013-14 3.3 
			 2014-15 3.4

Young People: Voluntary Organisations

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effects of the outcome of the spending review on statutory funding for voluntary sector organisations working with children, young people and families; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 25 October 2010
	The voluntary sector plays, and will continue to play, a significant role in reforming services for children, young people and families. We are opening up markets and will enable the voluntary sector to become better involved in delivering key services such as children's centres and youth services and we will work with local authorities to ensure that they commission services from the sector.
	While the voluntary sector cannot be immune from reductions in public expenditure, the spending review announced that Government will direct around £470 million over the SR period to support capacity building in the sector, including an endowment fund to assist local voluntary and community organisations. As part of this, the Government will provide funds to pilot the National Citizen Service and establish a Transition Fund of £100 million to provide short term support for voluntary sector organisations providing public services. The sector will also be able to access funding from the Big Society Bank, which will bring in private sector funding in addition to receiving all funding available to England from dormant accounts.
	Ministers will set out in due course the levels of funding that will be available through the SR period for voluntary sector organisations working with children, young people and families.

Youth Services: Finance

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to make an announcement on the future of those projects which were approved as part of the myplace programme on which work was suspended pending the outcome of the comprehensive spending review.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 1 November 2010
	 The Department for Education has not yet made a decision on funding for youth facilities beyond March 2011. The Government have undertaken a comprehensive spending review and Ministers will announce details on programme level funding, including for the myplace programme, in the coming months.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Boilers: Standards

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans the Government has for the replacement of G-rated boilers.

Gregory Barker: A G-rated boiler has a seasonal efficiency of less than 70%. Boiler efficiency has been steadily increased through amendments to the Building Regulations which required the installation of more efficient replacement boilers. The minimum performance requirement of a boiler was increased to 90% in October, when the 2010 amendment to part L of the regulations came into force. Each year, 1.5 million domestic boilers are sold in the UK. As a consequence of building regulations and the clear message that this sends out about the need to replace inefficient boilers, we estimate that there will be virtually no G-rated boilers by 2020.
	In addition to regulatory requirements, the replacement of inefficient boilers with a higher efficiency new boiler may be a measure under the Green Deal, provided the savings made over the product's life cover the upfront cost.

Carbon Emissions

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the likely efficacy of carbon sinks by 2050.

Gregory Barker: In the absence of significant emissions reductions, some weakening of global carbon sinks may occur by the end of this century but complete failure of either land or ocean carbon sinks is very unlikely.
	Recent work from the UK AVOID programme, which considers global emissions reductions of 50% by 2050, suggests little change in sink strength by the middle of this century.

Carbon Emissions: Heating

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has to reduce carbon dioxide emissions arising from inefficient domestic heating systems; and whether the replacement of inefficient heating systems will be included in the proposed Green Deal.

Gregory Barker: The Government have committed to reducing household emissions by 29% by 2020.
	There are a number of Government initiatives to address inefficient boilers in people's homes. These include our building regulations, the carbon emission reduction target extension to the end of 2012 and Warm Front support for the fuel poor. From June 2011, the renewable heat incentive will also provide support for uptake of renewable heat technologies.
	From 2012, our new Green Deal will provide private finance for a range of energy saving measures, which are expected to pay for themselves over a set period of time. Decisions on the specific measures to be included will be taken in due course.

Carbon Emissions: Housing

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the number of G-rated boilers in use in households.

Gregory Barker: A G-rated boiler has a seasonal efficiency of less than 70%. The boiler population was researched as a part of the work to underpin the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) extension. Annex B, Table B7 of the CERT 2011-12 Impact Assessment, published in 2010, points to there being around 3.6 million G-rated boilers in households in 2010. This estimate of population should be reduced by around 119,000 boilers, to take account of those G-rated boilers replaced under the boiler scrappage scheme.

Carbon Emissions: Housing

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether the Government's consultation on the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target will include heating systems.

Gregory Barker: A consultation on the role that appliances, consumer electronics and other low-value items should play in the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) scheme will be launched shortly. Heating systems are not part of this consultation and will continue to play a role in the CERT scheme. We will however consider any evidence presented to ensure CERT maximises its contribution to statutory carbon budgets, and this could include low value heating products.

Carbon Sequestration

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent assessment is of the viability of carbon capture and storage technology; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The individual processes involved in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) have been demonstrated separately, but the full chain of technologies (capture, transport, and storage) has yet to be demonstrated together at large-scale on a commercial power station. The 2010 International Energy Agency/Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum Report on CCS to the G8 noted that progress toward commercialisation is being made but that the experience to be gained from the operation of large-scale demonstration projects will be critical to the deployment of CCS.
	The Government are committed to providing public sector investment for four CCS demonstration plants, as set out in the Coalition Programme for Government. We announced in the spending review that up to £1 billion will be invested in the first of these projects.

Carbon Sequestration

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent assessment is of progress on development of the UK's carbon capture capabilities.

Charles Hendry: Earlier this year the Global CCS Institute published work identifying up to 80 large-scale, integrated CCS projects that are active or planned. UK projects featured prominently.
	The UK is well-placed to benefit from strengths in engineering expertise and potential for offshore storage of carbon dioxide under the North sea. The Government are determined to capitalise on these advantages and make the UK one of the best places to invest in CCS in the world.
	We are committed to providing public sector investment for four CCS demonstration plants, as set out in the coalition programme for government. In the spending review we announced that up to £1 billion will be invested in the first of these projects. This is the largest confirmed commitment to a single commercial-scale CCS project in the world. We are aiming for the first project to be constructed by 2014-15. The competition is progressing, with front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies currently under way.
	We recently completed a market sounding exercise to inform the development of the selection process for projects 2-4. We are currently analysing the information gathered and we aim to set out further details regarding our proposals at the end of the year.
	We will be developing a CCS Roadmap in consultation with industry and key stakeholders, including the new CCS Development Forum that will identify barriers to commercial deployment of CCS and the actions required to overcome them. We will publish the Roadmap in spring 2011.

Climate Change

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent assessment is of the likelihood of restricting a rise in global temperature increase to within 2° C.

Gregory Barker: The Government are committed to achieving an ambitious global deal to cut emissions consistent with limiting global temperature increases to 2° C, and to helping countries adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change.
	Evidence suggests that the expected increase in global temperatures is likely to be more than 2° C if we do not dramatically increase global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A number of analyses, including those by the DECC-funded AVOID programme, the London School of Economics and, most recently the EU, have been published in the past year which examine the requirements for limiting temperature rise to below 2° C. These show that the chances of achieving this goal are significantly increased if countries deliver emission reductions which will result in global greenhouse gas emissions reaching an early peak (within the next decade) and falling quickly to at least 50% below 1990 levels in 2050 and even lower levels thereafter.
	The pledges submitted to the Copenhagen Accord by over 80 countries, representing about 80% of global emissions, could lead to emissions peaking before 2020 if countries deliver on their high-end pledges in full, although rapid reductions will also be required after 2020 to deliver 2° C

Climate Change: China

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which projects on the effect of and adaptation to climate change in China his Department is funding; what the value of these projects is to UK research; and what the financial cost to his Department is of each such project.

Gregory Barker: DECC is currently contributing funding of £0.5 million over three years to a major multilateral research programme with China on impacts of, and adaptation to, climate change. The programme "Adaptation to Climate Change in China (ACCC)" explores the impacts of a changing climate on Chinese agriculture, water resources, health and disaster management.
	The total budget for the programme is £4.8 million with contributions from DFID of £2.5 million and the Swiss Development Agency of £1.8 million.
	The programme develops approaches to risk assessment of, and adaptation to climate change for the benefit of developing countries. Working with Chinese scientists in this programme builds on seven years of collaboration between the two countries, which has revealed the extent of climate change impacts on Chinese agriculture and identified approaches to address them. The programme has developed productive links between UK and Chinese researchers, including collaboration between the Met Office Hadley Centre and the China Meteorological Administration.

Climate Change: China

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what collaborative projects on energy technology and energy systems planning his Department is undertaking with China; and what the estimated monetary value is of each such project.

Gregory Barker: DECC is engaged in a number of projects with China in this area.
	The Chinese Advanced Power Plan Carbon Capture Options (CAPPCCO) project is looking to ensure that new power plants can be retrofitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. This project is being led by Imperial college, is due to complete in spring 2011 and is valued at £265,000.
	A project on Biomass Co-firing has sought to determine the strategic benefits of this technology in China. It has been led by Cranfield university and completed in October this year, at a cost of £270,000.
	We are supporting a project in Guangdong Province (SE China) at a cost of £60,000 with additional funding coming from both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Strategic Programme Fund and the Global CCS Institute. This project has resulted in CCS being identified as a strategic technology for development.
	In addition, the UK continues to be involved in the EU-China Near Zero Emissions Coal project, phase I of which was completed in October 2009. Estimated costs to the European partners of phase II of this project are between €20 million and €50 million.

Climate Change: China

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what strategic co-operation projects on climate change issues his Department is undertaking with China; what estimate he has made of their total monetary value; what further projects have been agreed following his visit to China in November 2010; and what estimate he has made of the number of new green jobs likely to be created in the UK as a result of those agreements.

Gregory Barker: In terms of existing projects, DECC is supporting a study between Sussex university and Tsinghua university to assess the barriers to the transfer of low carbon energy technology between the UK and China. The aim of the study is to facilitate technological co-operation between developed and developing countries. It is envisaged that the study will help to inform intergovernmental discussions about the development and transfer of low carbon energy technologies. The total cost of this project is £108,000.
	In terms of new projects focused on climate change, during my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's visit, the UK and China agreed to strengthen bilateral policy dialogue and exchange on topics including the use of fiscal measures and market mechanisms to promote low-carbon development and energy efficiency. It was agreed that these topics would be included in a new strand of cooperation activities aimed at sharing practical know-how and policy expertise between the UK and China's low-carbon pilot provinces and cities.
	Further details of wider collaboration on green development are set out in the Policy Outcomes Statement of the Economic and Financial Dialogue, which can be found at
	http://ukinchina.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/17069168/21605995/Outcomes-EFD
	In addition during his visit to China, my right hon. Friend opened the first meeting of the UK-China energy dialogue. The dialogue will help to strengthen energy collaboration with China, including in respect of low carbon and renewable energy technologies.
	No estimate has yet been made of the number of new green jobs likely to be created in the UK as a result of these agreements and activities.
	I have replied separately to the hon. Member's questions in respect of adaptation and technology collaboration.

Climate Change: China

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to his speech to the GLOBE Forum in Tianjin, China, 7 November 2010, what the evidential basis is of the figure of £3.5 trillion he gave for the monetary value of the global low-carbon and environmental sectors.

Gregory Barker: This figure is based on the Innovas report, commissioned by the then Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, which stated:
	'The global market value of the low-carbon and environmental goods and services (LCEGS) sector was £3,046 billion in 2007-8. Taking into account different growth rates for over 220 global economies, it is estimated that overall the global LCEGS sector grew by approximately 4% in 2007-8.'
	Allowing for a 4% year-on-year increase, the 2010-11 value of this sector would be an estimated £3,426 billion.
	The full report can be found at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file50254.pdf

Death: Weather

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for  (a) Communities and Local Government and  (b) Health on the prevention of excess winter deaths in 2010-11.

Gregory Barker: I have regular discussions with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Communities and Local Government and for Health on a range of policy issues and will continue to work closely with them as we develop and take forward policy to reduce the incidence of excess winter deaths.

Departmental Regulation

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what regulations his Department plans to  (a) repeal and  (b) amend in the next five years.

Gregory Barker: At present, it is too early to project how many regulations will be removed/amended over the course of the next five years.
	The Department is exploring ways to minimise the burden of DECC's regulation on UK business without compromising our ability to meet our hugely important goals. To inform this, the noble Lord Marland of Odstock, responsible for the Department's regulatory agenda, wrote to 250 of the Department's key stakeholders asking for their views. The response letter from Lord Marland and a summary of responses to this exercise was published 12 November on the DECC internet site:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/about/better_reg/better_reg.aspx
	So far DECC has identified the following regulations to repeal. The exact process for repealing these is still being explored (a suitable vehicle for repeal needs to be found, and consultation with relevant parties such as the devolved Administrations will need to take place for certain policies), but we are committed to identifying and repealing both redundant and unnecessarily burdensome pieces of regulation where possible. The policies identified for repeal to date are:
	Repeal of 18 exemption order regulations from the Radioactive Substances Act (1993). These will be replaced by a reformed, simplified regime.
	Repeal of two Electricity and Gas (Energy Efficiency Obligations) Orders (2001 and 2004). These have now been superseded by CERT regulations.
	Repeal of the Home Energy Conservation Act, 1995 (HECA), to make way for more targeted intervention in this area, remaining mindful of the important role local authorities play in this agenda and taking this into account in the development of new regulation. This will be repealed in the forthcoming Energy Bill
	Repeal of a duty on the Secretary of State to take reasonable steps to ensure that by 2010 the general level of energy efficiency of residential accommodation in England has increased by at least 20% compared with 2000 levels, as this is effectively now redundant, (section 217 Housing Act 2004).
	Repeal of the obligation for the building and conversion of oil or gas fired power stations of 10 MW or more to be notified to the Secretary of State (section 14(1) of the Energy Act 1976).
	Repeal of the obligation for power station gas contracts of 12 months or more to be notified to the Secretary of State (section 14(2), Energy Act 1976).
	Repeal of regulation regarding the employment of horses working underground, now obsolete because no horses or ponies have been employed in mines in the last 10 years (The Coal and Other Mines (Horses) Order 1956).
	Repeal of a power to require energy suppliers and generators to provide research and development information to the Government (section 99 (2)-(4), Electricity Act 1989).
	Repeal of powers in the 2010 Energy Act to adjust gas and electricity charges to address price discrimination (sections 26-29 Energy Act 2010).
	Savings may be fed into the One-in One-Out process as OUTs. Generally, my Department will continue to work to identify further potential OUTs for One-in, One-out.
	The Government's regulatory Forward Programme is due to be published later this year which will provide details of forthcoming regulation.

Energy Act 2010

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will exercise his powers under the Energy Act 2010 to require suppliers to provide social price support to all groups that qualify for cold weather payments and households in receipt of means-tested benefits with children under the age of 16 years.

Gregory Barker: Energy suppliers will be required from April 2011 to provide greater help with the financial costs of energy bills to more of the most vulnerable fuel poor households, with total support of £250 million in 2011-12 rising to £310 million per annum in 2014-15. The regulations requiring suppliers' participation will be made using powers under the Energy Act 2010.
	We intend to consult on the detailed policy design, including eligibility and targeting methods, later this year.

Energy Companies: Pensions

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from what budget the cost of the efficiency review of energy network operators' pension costs will be met; when he expects that review to be completed; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of that review.

Charles Hendry: The energy regulator Ofgem will shortly formally commission the Government Actuary's Department to undertake an initial review into energy network operators' pension costs in order to ensure that consumers only fund efficiently incurred pension costs. Pension costs can be significant with the recently concluded electricity distribution price control allowing £1.7 billion of funding. This initial review will cost £30,000, which will be met from within Ofgem's existing licence fee income, and is due to be completed by March 2011.
	If any pension schemes are identified in this initial review as potentially inefficient they will then be subject to a specific efficiency review. The costs of these subsequent reviews, if required, will also be met from within Ofgem's existing licence fee income.

Energy: Private Rented Housing

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure that the Green Deal will be available to households in the private rented sector.

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal will be available across all housing tenures.
	We expect that private landlords will respond positively to the Green Deal as it will remove the upfront costs of energy efficiency measures. The Green Deal enables households to invest in energy efficiency improvements at no upfront cost and repay through energy bills. That means landlords no longer face an expensive outlay for work requested by their tenants. Instead, under the Green Deal, tenants will be able to pay for the work through the savings on their energy bill.
	However, if following a review of the performance of the sector, we find landlords are not taking up this offer, we will respond accordingly.
	We are seeking to take powers in the Energy Security and Green Economy Bill to require landlords to honour reasonable requests for energy efficiency improvements, where a financial support package is available. It will also allow local authorities to insist that landlords improve the worst performing homes.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the European Commission's proposed hybrid clinker benchmark for Phase III of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

Gregory Barker: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I discuss a wide range of issues with our colleagues at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills from time to time. These discussions include the implications of EU legislation for UK business. Our officials are in regular dialogue with the cement industry in order that we may understand fully the implications of the European Commission's proposal for the free allocation rules for Phase III of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for the UK economy before any decisions are taken.

Fuel Poverty

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the remit of his Department's review of fuel poverty will be; and when he expects it to report.

Gregory Barker: The spending review included an announcement that the Government intend to initiate an independent review of the fuel poverty target and definition before the end of the year. This is in the context of our commitment to focus available resources where they will be most effective in tackling the problems underlying fuel poverty. We will announce more details on the proposed review, including duration and remit, before the end of the year.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much capital funding for the proposed Green Deal he expects to be contributed by private sector companies.

Gregory Barker: We anticipate the Green Deal will be entirely privately financed, although we are reshaping the energy company obligation to ensure that there is additional support for low income and vulnerable households, and to help meet the costs of securing energy efficiency in properties that are harder to treat.
	The scale of the financial requirement cannot be fully determined ahead of the scheme's implementation; however, the Government envisages wide spread use of Green Deal finance, with the capital requirement running into billions of pounds over time.

Nuclear Installations: Security

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the merits of implementing force-to-force security protection exercises at UK nuclear installations; and what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the effectiveness of such exercises at US civil and military nuclear facilities;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of physical protection measures at UK nuclear installations against attack from laser-guided anti-tank shoulder-fired weapons;
	(3)  if he will discuss with his Russian counterpart the force-on-force security system tests on purpose-built dummy reactor buildings which Russian security forces have conducted using AT14 Kornet/Spriggen weapons.

Charles Hendry: Security at UK civil nuclear sites is kept under continuous review to ensure its effectiveness and arrangements take account of international guidance and best practice. In assessing the level of threat to these sites from a malicious attack, the industry's regulator, the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS), gives full consideration to the available intelligence on the methods, capabilities and intentions of terrorist groups and potential adversaries therefore enabling appropriate physical protection and other security measures to be put into place. The Government do not comment on the detail of security matters at civil nuclear sites.

Nuclear Power

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what consideration he has given to introducing a requirement for anti-spall protective coating on external surfaces of nuclear power plants and associated on-site radioactive waste stores;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of security measures at nuclear energy installations against the use of recoilless guns firing kinetic munitions;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of security protective measures at coastal located nuclear installations against malevolent paramilitary terrorist attack from ship-fired  (a) Chinese-manufactured c-802 missiles,  (b) French-manufactured MILAN missiles,  (c) Iranian-manufactured Toophan missiles and  (d) US-manufactured TOW missiles;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the resilience of UK civil nuclear installations against malevolent paramilitary terrorist attacks.

Charles Hendry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her today to Questions 23438,23439 and 23440.

Renewable Energy

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the prospects of reaching the 2020 target for renewable electricity generation.

Charles Hendry: holding answer 12 November 2010
	The Renewable Energy Directive 2009 sets the UK a legally binding target to ensure that 15% of our energy (electricity, heat and transport) comes from renewable sources by 2020.
	Analysis published in 2009 demonstrated that while our target is challenging, it is achievable. We are committed to creating the right conditions for companies to invest in renewable energy projects, including the provision of appropriate incentives and the removal of financial barriers.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what funding his Department has allocated in respect of  (a) the renewable heating initiative and  (b) the feed-in tariff scheme to take account of the implementation of proposals contained in the comprehensive spending review in (i) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13.

Charles Hendry: The spending review confirmed that the feed-in tariff would continue as planned for 2010-11 to 2013-14. For 2014-15, the Government have committed to finding savings of 10% on previous plans. These will be introduced as part of the scheduled review unless deployment under the scheme is significantly higher than expected.
	The spending review confirmed that the renewable heat incentive will go ahead from 2011, with savings found of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% for 2011-12 to 2014-15 respectively, relative to the proposals that the previous administration consulted on in February. Spending through the scheme is expected to exceed £850 million over the spending review period. The spending review announced this would be funded directly by government, instead of through the overly complex renewable heat levy.
	The Office for Budget Responsibility is planning to publish its forecasts for spending through both schemes with its autumn forecast on 29 November.

Sustainable Development

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what contracts have been placed with  (a) the Energy Savings Trust and  (b) the Carbon Trust to advise on implementation of (i) energy savings plans and (ii) sustainable development programmes in Government Departments; and what the monetary value has been of each such contract since May 2010.

Gregory Barker: Neither the Energy Saving Trust nor the Carbon Trust have contracts with Government Departments for advice relating to energy savings plans or sustainable development plans.
	The Carbon Trust is supporting 10 Government Departments as well as executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies in developing and implementing energy saving plans as part of its central Government Carbon Management Service which launched in May 2010. The costs of providing this service are met from the core grant which DECC has provided to the Carbon Trust for 2010-11.

Wind Power

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has undertaken into mechanisms to measure offshore wind speed.

Charles Hendry: The Meteorological Office measures offshore wind speeds, using its network of Marine Automatic Weather Stations and assimilates information from satellites into its weather forecasting model to estimate wind speeds.
	Information on offshore wind speed, based on modelling work by the Meteorological Office, is available in the Atlas of Marine Renewable Energy Resources. This was last published by the then Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (now BIS) in 2007 and can be accessed at:
	http://www.renewables-atlas.info/wind_map.aspx
	For individual sites, offshore wind farm developers undertake their own wind speed studies and these results are required to be submitted under lease conditions imposed by The Crown Estate.

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty: Caribbean

Kate Hoey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what  (a) representations he has received from and  (b) meetings he has had with representatives of Caribbean communities about the proposed changes to air passenger duty;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the likely level of revenue which will accrue from the implementation of the proposed changes to air passenger duty for flights to the Caribbean;
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the implementation of the proposed changes to air passenger duty on the annual number of  (a) passengers travelling and  (b) trips taken to the Caribbean from the UK.

Justine Greening: The June Budget stated that the Government will explore changes to the aviation tax system, including switching from a per-passenger to a per-plane duty. Major changes will be subject to consultation.
	Since June, I have received representations and met with a number of stakeholder and industry groups, including representatives from the Caribbean countries.

Bank Levy

Pat Glass: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  for what reason he changed the proposed £20 billion threshold for the bank levy to a £20 billion allowance;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the Exchequer of his decision to implement the bank levy on the basis of a £20 billion  (a) threshold and  (b) allowance.

Mark Hoban: Details of the Government's decision to introduce an allowance on the first £20 billion of relevant liabilities were set out in chapter 3 of the Government's consultation response published alongside the draft legislation on 21 October.
	This is available on HM Treasury website:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/fin_bank_levy.htm
	paragraphs 3.4 to 3.5.

Bank Services: Regulation

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what  (a) regulations and  (b) guidance govern the maximum period within which banks and building societies must issue final payments when requests are made to close accounts. [R]

Mark Hoban: The rules governing maximum payment periods, including on the closure of an account are set out in the EU's Payment Services Regulations 2009.
	There are separate rules for the different types of account and different types of payment.
	Regulation 72 of the Payment Services Regulations provides that cash deposited by a consumer in a payment account, such as a current account, must be made available to the consumer immediately. The regulations also set specific times for making payments to a person's payment account. The regulations do not apply to accounts, such as some savings accounts, that do not provide a payment service.
	When closing one account in order to switch to another account, the Financial Services Authority's (FSA) rules say that both the old and new banks must provide a prompt and efficient service. Guidance issued by the banking industry calls funds to be dispatched in line with the customer's instructions on the day an account is closed, promptly and where possible by same working day. The guidance also calls for switching a current account to be completed within 10 working days. Switching a cash ISA may take up to 30 days. However, industry has committed to bring this down to 15 working days by the end of 2010.

Budgets: Environment Protection

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which body is responsible for evaluating the environmental sustainability of budget proposals; and if he will make a statement.

Justine Greening: The Treasury is responsible for assessing the environmental impacts of Budget proposals. The exact environmental impact of the spending review will depend on the decisions of individual Departments, as set out in box 2.4 of the spending review document.

Bureaux de Change: Regulation

Jake Berry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to bring forward proposals for sector-specific regulation of retail foreign currency exchange services.

Mark Hoban: The administrators are reviewing the trading operations of Crown Currency Exchange, its financial position and the conduct of its directors. Once the administrators have reported, the Government will look closely at this case to see what lessons need to be learned from the failure of the company.

Child Benefit

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount his Department paid in child benefit in respect of families of those paying income tax at the higher rate in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will estimate the increase in the higher rate of income tax required to accrue the equivalent sum to the Exchequer.

David Gauke: The amount HMRC is estimated to be paying in child benefit in respect of families of those paying income tax at the higher rate in 2010-11 is £2.0 billion.
	The increase in the higher rate of income tax required to accrue the equivalent sum to the Exchequer is around 2%.

Child Benefit

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department assessed the merits of using a system of means-testing similar to that used for the allocation of tax credits in developing its proposals for changes in the administration of child benefit.

David Gauke: The Government consider a range of options when formulating policy. The Chancellor announced that child benefit will be withdrawn from families containing a higher rate taxpayer from January 2013, as it is not fair for those earning just £15,000 or £30,000 to go on paying the child benefit of those earning £50,000 or £100,000 and that no further changes to child benefit are required.

Child Benefit

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of mothers who will lose their entitlement to a state pension as a result of the withdrawal of child benefit from couples with a higher rate taxpayer.

Mark Hoban: The withdrawal of child benefit from families containing a higher rate taxpayer will not affect national insurance credits for state pension entitlement.

Child Benefit: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in  (a) Scotland,  (b) East Ayrshire and  (c) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency cease to be eligible to claim child benefit as a result of being in the higher tax allowance bracket.

David Gauke: The number of households affected by the withdrawal of child benefit from families with a higher rate tax payer in 2013 in Scotland is estimated to be about 120,000.
	Information on household income for child benefit claimants is not available at geographical levels below Government office region.

Comprehensive Spending Review

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what aspects of the reforms to the welfare system announced in  (a) the June Budget 2010 and  (b) the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) were (i) included and (ii) not included in his Department's modelling of the distributional analysis of the outcomes of the CSR.

David Gauke: The policies that could be modelled account for around two-thirds of tax, tax credit and benefit changes coming into effect in 2012-13. These are measures for which there are sufficiently robust data to attribute changes in tax, tax credits or benefits to individuals. The full list of modelled measures can be found in the 'Spending Review 2010: Distributional Impact Analysis-data sources' document. The full list of welfare measures announced in the June Budget 2010 can be found in Table 2.1 of the 'Budget 2010' document; the full list of welfare measures announced in the spending review 2010 can be found in Table 3 of the 'Spending Review 2010' document.

Corporation Tax

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the corporation tax receipts from each business sector were in each of the last three years.

David Gauke: Historical figures for corporation tax receipts paid by several broadly-defined business sectors are regularly updated and published in Table 11.1, on the HMRC National Statistics website. The latest update is available here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/table11_1.pdf

Crown Currency Exchange

Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions HM Revenue and Customs was contacted with concerns about Crown Currency Exchange Limited before its collapse; and which  (a) organisations and  (b) individuals made such contacts.

Mark Hoban: All information received by HM Revenue and Customs is carefully considered and where it relates to HMRC's responsibilities action is taken as appropriate. However, section 18 of the Commissioners of Revenue and Customs Act 2005 does not permit HM Revenue and Customs to comment on the affairs of individual customers.

Departmental Regulation

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what regulations his Department plans to  (a) repeal and  (b) amend in the next five years.

Justine Greening: The Government's regulatory Forward Programme is due to be published later this year and will provide details of all forthcoming regulation.
	My Department is reviewing the pipeline of legislation inherited from the previous administration and much of this work is well advanced. We will work to identify regulations that could be removed to comply with "One in One out"-the Government's commitment that new regulation will be offset by a corresponding equivalent reduction in regulatory burdens.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Paul Uppal: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people that will be affected by his decision not to include Equitable Life with-profits annuitants who drew their pension before September 1992 in his proposed compensation scheme.

Mark Hoban: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Cotswold (Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) on 9 November,  Official Report, column 286W.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 20 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 54-56WS, on the Equitable Life Payment Scheme, for what reason with profits annuitants with Equitable Life who opened their policies before 1 September 1992 will not be recompensed for their relative losses.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 8 November 2010
	This Government are committed to implementing the Parliamentary Ombudsman's recommendation to introduce a fair and transparent payments scheme to Equitable Life policyholders for their relative loss as a result of regulatory failure. With Profits Annuitants (WPAs) who took out policies before 1 September 1992 did so before any maladministration could have affected their decisions, so suffered no relative loss and therefore have not been included in the Government's proposed payment scheme.

Government Departments: Cost-effectiveness

John Pugh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what progress has been made towards the target of £30 billion of efficiency savings set in the 2007 comprehensive spending review;
	(2)  which Departments  (a) met and  (b) did not meet efficiency savings targets agreed with his Department in each of the last three financial years.

Danny Alexander: £14.7 billion of efficiency savings were reported by Departments in their 2010 spring departmental reports, showing that less than 50% of the £35 billion target savings had been achieved two years into a three-year programme.
	The NAO audited a sample of the reported savings and, in its compendium report on the CSR07 VFM programme (HC 291), described just over one-third of these savings as genuine. Applied to the reported savings, this would imply that only £5.59 billion are genuine-less than 20% of the £35 billion target savings.
	The NAO further noted HC 291 that:
	"Our recurring concerns and the slower than expected progress reported to date mean it is unlikely that departments will deliver £35bn of savings which fully meet the CSR07 criteria."
	and this target-based approach had:
	"not made a significant impact on how departments do their business"
	and as having:
	"complex and sometimes counter-intuitive criteria."
	The Government announced in spending review 2010 a more specific and innovative approach to efficiency and reform across the public sector, including:
	a reduction in administration budgets of 34% across the whole of Whitehall and its arm's length bodies saving £5.9 billion a year by 2014-15;
	radically reducing the number of arm's length bodies across government; and
	the Efficiency and Reform Group's tough new efficiency regime which will drive savings in procurement, major projects and estate management.
	As a result, Departments will no longer be required to report against the previous Government's failed efficiency target.

National Insurance Fund

Steven Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the reasons are for the difference between the estimate of the surplus of the National Insurance Fund published by the Government Actuary's Department in January 2010 and the National Insurance Fund balance invested, as recorded by the Debt Management Office.

David Gauke: The Government Actuary's Department (GAD) estimate in January 2010 was based on a number of assumptions, including the HM Treasury pre-Budget report published in December 2009. As actual outturn contribution receipts for 2009-10 were lower than GAD's estimate, the amount available to be deposited by the National Insurance Fund (NIF) into the Investment Account by the UK Debt Management Office (DMO) on behalf of the NIF was consequently lower than GAD's estimate. The DMO account shows the actual cash held in the fund as at 31 March 2010 and is not influenced by the GAD estimate.

Personal Income

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2010,  Official Report, column 906W, on personal income, when he expects HM Revenue and Customs to publish data relating to the number of millionaires residing in the UK in each year since 2005; and what proportion of millionaires' income tax liability was collected in each year since 2000-01.

David Gauke: HMRC are currently consulting users on a proposed new methodology for the personal wealth statistics, which closes in January 2011. Depending on the outcome of the consultation, HMRC hope to be able to publish updated wealth statistics in 2011.
	More recent wealth information is already available from the Office for National Statistics' Wealth and Asset Survey:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/wealth-assets-2006-2008/Wealth_in_GB_2006_2008.pdf
	However, the report focuses on wealth at a household level and does not contain an estimate of the number of millionaires.
	Information on the proportion of millionaires' income tax liability that was collected in each year since 2000-01 is not available.

Private Finance Initiative: Carlisle

John Stevenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what private finance initiative schemes there are in Carlisle constituency.

Danny Alexander: A list of signed and in procurement PFI projects can be found on HM Treasury's website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ppp_pfi_stats.htm
	For each PFI project, this list details the project name, the capital value, the constituency, the procuring authority and whether it is on or off balance sheet; as used by the ONS in calculating public sector net debt.
	This indicates that there are currently three closed PFI projects in Carlisle;
	1. The Carlisle Northern Development Route;
	2. The A69 Carlisle to Newcastle; and
	3. The Cumberland Infirmary (North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust).

Revenue and Customs: Bank Services

Julian Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the bank accounts used by HM Revenue and Customs have faster payment banking facilities.

David Gauke: HMRC does not operate faster payment banking facilities. When the Faster Payments Service (FPS) was introduced in 2008 the Bank of England was HMRC's main banking supplier. The Bank of England had already taken a strategic decision to withdraw from the provision of retail banking services and consequently did not join the FPS. HMRC's new banking suppliers are RBS and Citibank, both are members of the FPS. HMRC has outline plans to develop its capacity to deliver faster payments; however, other departmental priorities mean it has not been possible to commission the necessary system changes to facilitate this. HMRC continues to keep this under review and will seek to develop its capacity to deliver faster payments when resources allow.

Revenue and Customs: Christmas

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that staff working in the Debt Management Telephone Centre business unit of HM Revenue and Customs are consulted on working hours to be scheduled for  (a) 25 December 2010 and  (b) 26 December 2010.

David Gauke: HMRC have concluded that there is no business need for its Debt Management Telephone Centres to open on 25 and 26 December 2010. Discussions have already been held with both staff and unions about the associated working hours and leave arrangements.

Revenue and Customs: Inspections

Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the average annual  (a) number and  (b) proportion of higher-rate taxpayers who are subject to an HM Revenue and Customs tax inspection.

David Gauke: There are approximately 3.1 million higher- rate taxpayers. Any risks identified in the returns of these individuals are largely handled by Local Compliance. Without incurring disproportionate cost we are unable to breakdown the proportion of interventions that we carry out specifically to isolate the higher rate taxpayers.

Travel: Concessions

David Crausby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with pensioners' groups on the future of national free travel for pensioners.

Mark Hoban: Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Welfare Tax Credits

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households were means-tested for tax credit eligibility in 2009-10; and what the cost to HM Revenue and Customs was of such testing.

David Gauke: Eligibility for tax credits is defined in the Tax Credits Act 2002 and tax credits regulations. Other than those claimants who are in receipt of income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-based employment and support allowance and the state pension credit, all tax credits awards are automatically calculated by reference to annual household income. It is not possible therefore to identify the cost of determining eligibility for tax credits.

Welfare Tax Credits: Lone Parents

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made a recent estimate of the proportion of working single mothers receiving tax credits who work ( a) 16,  (b) 17 to 20,  (c) 21 to 25 and  (d) over 25 hours a week.

David Gauke: The information, as of April 2010, is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Weekly hours worked by single mother  Number of single mothers  Percentage of all working single mothers in tax credits 
			 Less than 16 hours 27,000 2 
			 16 hours 215,000 19 
			 17 to 20 hours 185,000 16 
			 21 to 25 hours 144,000 13 
			 More than 25 hours 570,000 50

HEALTH

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health on 2 November 2010,  Official Report, column 899, which two independent sector abortions providers will meet the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State; if he will place in the Library a copy of  (a) the agenda,  (b) any material produced for the meeting and  (c) a note of the meeting; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: I will be meeting with the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and Marie Stopes International on 29 November 2010. Following this meeting, I will place the requested information in the Library.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of likely average waiting times in accident and emergency departments in each of the next five years.

Simon Burns: No estimate has been made of likely average waiting times over the next five years for accident and emergency (A&E) departments in England. While the Department recognises the importance of timeliness, quality of care requires consideration of a broader set of issues. For this reason, we plan to introduce new clinical quality indicators for A&E departments in April 2011, to replace the current four hour waiting time process target. These will look at quality of care as a whole, including timeliness.

Cancer: Older People

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the accuracy of diagnoses of cancer in the NHS of those aged 65 years and over; and what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the relationship between age and accuracy of cancer diagnoses;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the factors underlying the outcomes of cancer treatment in those aged 65 years and over; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: As part of the work of the Department's National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative, the National Cancer Action Team supported the Royal College of General Practitioners and the University of Durham to undertake a national audit of cancer diagnosis in primary care to identify ways to improve clinical practice and service delivery.
	The audit has enabled local analysis of the factors that influence diagnosis in primary care. Full analysis has not yet been completed, and therefore no central assessment has yet been made of the relationship between age and diagnosis in primary care based on these data. It is anticipated that the findings of the report will be available in spring 2011.
	The Department is working with Macmillan Cancer Support on a jointly funded project that aims to understand barriers to treatment and to improve appropriate intervention rates for people over 70 who have a cancer diagnosis. The pilot programme aims to identify, test and evaluate ways to assess an older person for cancer treatment; to provide practical support and information to aid patient/practitioner decision making; and to train professionals involved in the pathway to promote age equality and address age discrimination.
	It is anticipated that the pilot projects will run for a 12-month period with the pilots taking place between May 2011 and April 2012. We will then evaluate whether the approaches tested can have a positive impact on intervention and mortality rates for older people.

Care Homes: Fees and Charges

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the regulation regime for care home fees; and whether his Department has assessed the merit of imposing an upper limit to prevent excessive fees.

Paul Burstow: Care home fees are not regulated.
	Contracts between care homes and people who arrange their own care are a matter for the homeowner and the individual resident.
	Almost all care homes are run by the independent sector. For local authority supported residents, contracting arrangements between local authorities and independent sector care homes are a matter for local negotiation. The Government do not set or recommend the level of the fees that local authorities pay.
	It would not be appropriate for the Government to interfere in commercial decisions by private businesses about the level of fees they negotiate with individuals and organisations for providing care.

Care Homes: Inspections

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reports on care homes on the Care Quality Commission website were issued  (a) up to six months ago,  (b) up to one year ago,  (c) up to 18 months ago and  (d) over two years ago .

Paul Burstow: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has provided the following information.
	The CQC website hosts the following reports on providers of adult social care, as at 11 November 2010 and based on the date of publication of the report.
	
		
			  Age of report  Number of reports 
			 Up to six months 3,999 
			 Between six and 12 months 9,175 
			 Between 12 and 18 months 8,613 
			 Between 18 and 24 months 7,137 
			 Over 24 months 119,566 
			 Total 148,490 
		
	
	CQC has also advised that it holds an additional 199 reports that are not included in the total above because CQC is not able to put them in date order due to lack of data.

Care Homes: Inspections

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the provision of information on the Care Quality Commission website on the inspection of care homes to ensure that it is up-to-date.

Paul Burstow: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care for England.
	CQC inspection reports reflect an inspection made at a given point in time. When a new report is published, the previous report is not out of date; it becomes a historic record that continues to be available. Reports are presented in chronological order and are clearly date stamped.
	Any report not on CQC's website can be requested through CQC's contact centre.

Care Homes: Inspections

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care homes had not been inspected by the Care Quality Commission by the due date for such inspections in the latest period for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: Under the Care Standards Act 2000, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) was required to carry out an inspection of care homes every three years.
	CQC took over from the Commission for Social Care Inspection, the Healthcare Commission and the Mental Health Act Commission as the independent regulator of health and adult social care on 1 April 2009.
	CQC has advised that, according to its records, since 1 April 2009, 10 care homes have not had an inspection within a three-year period of the previous inspection. All other care homes in England have had an inspection within the required three-year period.
	Of those 10 care homes, four had an inspection during 2010.
	Since 1 October 2010, care homes have been regulated under the new framework introduced by the Health and Social Care Act 2008. The 2008 Act does not specify a due date for inspections, but CQC is required to act in a way that is targeted and proportionate to the risks against which it affords safeguards.

Clostridium

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration he has given to the use of prebiotics for the prevention of clostridium difficile in hospitals.

Anne Milton: There is currently insufficient evidence to show that prebiotics offer benefits in a hospital setting to be able to make a general recommendation. We will keep this issue under review. A balanced diet is important to the well-being of all patients.

Death Certificates

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure that death certificates reflect contributing factors in the death of people with  (a) diabetes and  (b) other long-term conditions.

Paul Burstow: Information included by attending practitioners on Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs) is an important source of data about the mortality associated with different diseases for clinicians, those responsible for planning and managing health services, and for the general population-both relatives of those who may have died and those who may be at risk of specific diseases. The Chief Medical Officer wrote to all medical staff working in the national health service in October 2007 to remind them that death certification is a significant responsibility for doctors and should reflect a careful consideration of all the events that led up to, and may have caused or contributed to, the person's death.
	The Government's proposed reform of the death certification process will improve the quality and accuracy of MCCDs. Medical examiners, when appointed, will confirm cause of death in all cases not investigated by a coroner, regardless of form of disposal. Doctors completing MCCDs will be able to discuss cause(s) of death with an independent medical examiner, thereby improving the quality and accuracy of certification. Implementation of the reforms is due to commence in April 2012.

Dental Services

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether dentists are to be represented on  (a) the National Commissioning Board and  (b) the Public Health Board.

Simon Burns: We intend to introduce legislation to establish the NHS Commissioning Board later this year. The Health Bill will set out further details about the membership of the Board and the process for making appointments. As set out in the White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS', the Government's intention is that the NHS Commissioning Board will commission dental services and it will therefore need to have access to appropriate clinical dental advice. The Government's proposals for establishing a new Public Health Service will be set out in a forthcoming Public Health White Paper.

Diabetes: Nutrition

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the standard of nutrition provided to diabetics in hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Neither the Food Standards Agency nor Diabetes UK (formerly the British Diabetic Association) recommends special diabetic products for people with diabetes.
	Since April 2010, it has been a requirement of a hospital's continuing registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), that service users are protected from the risks of inadequate nutrition and dehydration. The CQC will assess trusts against this requirement and have tough enforcement powers in cases where the proper standards are not being met.

Diabetes: Nutrition

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of people with diabetes are participating in  (a) dose adjustment for normal eating,  (b) diabetes education and self-management for newly-diagnosed and  (c) other structured educational programmes in (i) Crawley constituency and (ii) nationally.

Paul Burstow: There are a number of national and locally developed patient education programmes available and a range of tools and guidance to help local services choose the best programmes to meet the needs of their local population.
	In the Crawley area, there are two Diabetes Education and Self-Management for Newly Diagnosed (DESMOND) courses running per month, which means a provision for 20 patients per month to attend a DESMOND newly diagnosed course. Although not all courses are run with maximum capacity. Between April and October 2010, 86 patients attended in Crawley.
	The Department does not collate information on the numbers of people participating in structured education programmes for diabetes.

Dietary Supplements: Channel Islands

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when Ministers in his Department next plan to visit Jersey to discuss the implementation of the EU Food Supplements Directive and the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulations;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the governments of  (a) Jersey and  (b) Guernsey on the implementation of the EU Food Supplements Directive and the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulations in their states; whether he has received an implementation timetable from (i) Jersey and (ii) Guernsey; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Policy responsibility for the Crown Dependencies lies with the Ministry of Justice. I understand that my noble Friend the Minister of State for Justice (Lord McNally) raised the implementation of the Food Supplements Directive and the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation with the Guernsey authorities, during his visit to the Island on 24 September 2010 and expects to raise the issue with the Jersey authorities in the course of his forthcoming visit there, as indicated in the answer given on 1 November 2010,  Official Report, column 508W.
	Health Ministers have not had discussions with the authorities in Jersey and Guernsey and do not have any plans to visit Jersey at this time.
	Departmental officials have had discussions with a range of groups to help progress this issue, including the food supplements industry in the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Justice, HM Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs and the Governments of Jersey and Guernsey.

General Practitioners

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the per patient fee from his Department will be for GP commissioners following the abolition of primary care trusts.

Simon Burns: The White Paper "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS" proposed that the commissioning budgets allotted to general practitioner consortia would include a maximum allowance for the administrative costs associated with commissioning. Consortia will be free to decide how to use this allowance to carry out commissioning activities. With the exception of this allowance, the consortium's commissioning budget will have to be used exclusively for the commissioning of patient care. The Department will announce later this year what the level of allowance will be.

General Practitioners

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the debt held by primary care trusts (PCTs) will be passed on to GPs' practices once PCTs are abolished.

Simon Burns: The Department is working with the strategic health authorities to address circumstances where primary care trusts (PCTs) owe money, with the expectation that any debt will be fully resolved by the end of 2012-13. The issue of PCT debt will be covered in further detail in the NHS Operating Framework for 2011-12.

Herbal Medicine: Jersey

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the government of Jersey on the timescale for implementation of proposals that all manufactured herbal medicines in Jersey should be registered with the UK's traditional herbal medicine registration scheme.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State has had no recent discussions with the Government of Jersey on the herbal medicine registration scheme.
	Following a meeting last year between Jersey and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency officials on the implementation of European medicines legislation, there have been ongoing discussions.

Hospitals: Meat

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will review levels of meat consumption in hospitals for the purpose of improving public health;
	(2)  whether he is taking steps to reduce levels of meat consumption for the purpose of improving public health.

Anne Milton: Evidence on the relationship between red and processed meat consumption and colorectal cancer risk and the impact of a recommendation to reduce meat consumption has been considered by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) as part of a review on iron and health. It is anticipated that the SACN report on iron and health will be published towards the end of the year.
	The Department will review its advice on meat consumption after considering the recommendations from the SACN report on iron and health.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people received IVF treatment on the NHS in each year since 2000;
	(2)  what the success rate of births using IVF has been in each year since 2005.

Anne Milton: Information on the number of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment cycles funded by the national health service is not collected centrally by either the Government or the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
	The following table shows the percentage of live births per treatment cycle started for each year from 2005 to 2008. This is based on data contained in the HFEA's register at 9 November 2010.
	
		
			   Percentage of live births per cycle started 
			 2005 21.7 
			 2006 23.0 
			 2007 23.7 
			 2008 24.1 
		
	
	Outcome data up to 31 December 2008 have been subject to the HFEA's verification procedure. Data returns for 2009 are not currently complete and are scheduled for verification by the end of October 2011 in accordance with the HFEA's normal procedures.

Insulin

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects on quality of patient treatment of discontinuation of Novo Mixtard 30 insulin.

Paul Burstow: Decisions about discontinuations of medicines are commercial decisions for the company concerned and the Department has in place well established guidelines to ensure that the effect of discontinuations on patient care is minimised.
	The Department has been working together with Novo Nordisk to ensure that people affected by this change have access to the support they need.
	The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the effects on the quality of patient treatment, following the discontinuation of Novo Mixtard 30 insulin.

NHS 111

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the staff grades will be of nurses assigned to the proposed 111 NHS system; and what assessment he has made of the efficacy of using staff at such grades.

Simon Burns: The most appropriate staff mix for NHS 111 call handling must be evidence based and reflect the needs of commissioners, which is why we are piloting the service. We will collect and publish evaluation data from the pilots, which will be made available to commissioners. There will not be a centrally mandated approach to staffing NHS 111, and commissioners will be free to determine what is best for their patients.
	In the NHS 111 County Durham and Darlington pilot, calls that are referred to a clinician are handled by a Band 5 nurse or paramedic. The service also requires a level of clinical supervision at all times, which is provided by Band 6 nurses.

NHS: Publications

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS bodies his Department requires to produce  (a) annual reports and  (b) other publications; if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of such publications in each of the last three years; and if he will take steps to reduce the number of such publications.

Simon Burns: All national health service bodies are required by primary legislation to produce annual reports and accounts in the interests of public and parliamentary accountability. Details of costs are not collected by the Department.
	The Health Act 2009 created a further duty on providers of NHS healthcare-whether they are NHS bodies or not-to publish an annual Quality Account. In the first year, 2009-10, some 200 such bodies published Quality Accounts, at an estimated cost of some £14,000 per organisation.
	Also, the NHS Operating Framework currently requires primary care trusts, as part of their local accountability, to publish their performance against the vital signs indicator set and for 2010 -11 to publish with their partners how they are implementing the National Dementia Strategy.
	The Department imposes as few reporting requirements on NHS bodies as possible while ensuring proper accountability by them and ensuring that they operate effectively, efficiently and economically. For example, Quality Accounts were designed and tested with NHS bodies, with a view to minimising the burden.

North Manchester Hospital: Accident and Emergency Departments

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation he has undertaken on the future of the accident and emergency unit at North Manchester General Hospital.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State has undertaken no such consultation. Responsibility for local health services lies with the national health service locally. It is for local commissioners to lead and consult on any proposals for local service change.
	This Government are committed to devolving power to local communities-to the people, patients, general practitioners (GPs) and councils, who are best placed to determine the nature of their national health services locally. The Government have pledged that, in future, all service changes must be led by clinicians and patients, not be driven from the top down. To this end, we have outlined new, strengthened criteria that decisions on NHS service changes must meet.
	They must focus on improving patient outcomes; consider patient choice; have support from GP commissioners; and be based on sound clinical evidence.
	NHS North West approved the assessment that the Healthy Futures reconfiguration met this criteria on 3 November 2010. The National Clinical Advisory Team report on Healthy Futures, provided as evidence for the Healthy Futures review, supported the clinical case for change and made recommendations to assess the options to centralise some services, including emergency care, on one site in the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. It is for local commissioners to consider the application of these recommendations locally.

Ophthalmic Services

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions his Department has had with representatives of opticians and optometrists on the introduction in England of a scheme equivalent to the Primary Eyecare Acute Referral Scheme in Wales; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the likely effects on  (a) clinical outcomes,  (b) value for money and  (c) levels of patient satisfaction of introducing in England a scheme equivalent to the Primary Eyecare Acute Referral Scheme in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Departmental officials have regular meetings with representatives of the optical sector, as well as organisations representing service users and other professionals.
	Health is a devolved matter. In England, our view is that local health communities are best placed to decide how to develop eye care services and improve visual health in ways that reflect local needs and circumstances. Currently primary care trusts perform this role. Under our proposed reforms, it will be for local commissioning consortia. The proposed NHS Commissioning Board will provide advice to consortia.
	We will keep developments in other parts of the United Kingdom under review and will assess evidence that emerges about the clinical and cost effectiveness of the service models developed there.

Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust: Clostridium

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clostridium difficile infections were reported by Pennine Acute Hospitals  (a) in total,  (b) in those aged over 65 years and  (c) that are trust apportioned in each of the last five years; and how many such infections have been reported in each such case in 2010 to date.

Anne Milton: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Clostridium difficile infections reported by Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 
			   (a) Total cases (all patients aged two years and over)  (b) Total cases (patients aged 65 years and over)  (c) Total trust-apportioned cases (all patients aged two years and over) 
			 2005 (1)- 305 (1)- 
			 2006 (1)- 558 (1)- 
			 2007 (2)431 555 (2)293 
			 2008 663 546 392 
			 2009 587 448 290 
			 2010 (3)119 (3)97 (4)154 
			 (1) Not collected. (2) These data were not collected until April 2007; totals for this year (2007) are for April to December 2007 only. (3) These data are for January to March 2010 only. The rest of the 2010 data will be published in July 2011 as part of the HPA publication plan. (4) These data are published on a monthly basis and the 2010 data covers January to September 2010.  Source: Health Protection Agency (HPA).

Smallpox: Vaccination

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2010,  Official Report, column 159W, on smallpox: vaccination, what estimate he has made of the number of those personnel who were vaccinated against smallpox in 2005 who continue to work in a relevant frontline health position; and what plans he has to maintain the strength of the cohort of vaccinated personnel.

Anne Milton: The strength of the cohort of vaccinated front line health workers to deal with any initial suspected or confirmed case of smallpox, if one were to occur, is based in part on the threat level outlined in the National Risk Assessment (NRA). The NRA is a classified annual assessment of the risks (accidents, natural events and malicious attacks) facing the United Kingdom over a five year period. Based on the current risk, there is no proposal to change the number of people currently in the cohort.

Social Services: Redcar

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to improve the standard of Redcar and Cleveland Council's adult social care services; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has inspected this council and has identified the improvements that are needed.
	CQC is working with the local authority to draft an improvement action plan, which will be supported by the Department's Deputy Regional Director (DRD) of Adult Social Care and Partnerships in the North East.
	Recognising that safeguarding adults is a critical part of local authority service delivery, the North East Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, working with the DRD, has recently commissioned a report into safeguarding in the region.
	Recommendations include agreeing a consistent criteria for establishing thresholds in relation to safeguarding adults. The DRD is supporting this further work with all 12 councils in the North East, including Redcar and Cleveland.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Azerbaijan: Travel Information

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice his Department makes available to British citizens intending to travel to Azerbaijan.

David Lidington: Information for British citizens wishing to travel to Azerbaijan is made available through the travel advice pages of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website:
	www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country
	Travel advice for Azerbaijan is updated regularly. The advice currently states that we advise against all travel to Nagorno-Karabakh and the militarily occupied area surrounding it. The travel advice was last updated on 21 October 2010 following a change in the Azerbaijani visa regime. Expert advice and practical support for UK business representatives wishing to do business in Azerbaijan is available from UK Trade and Investment.

Diplomatic Service: Domestic Service

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the employment rights of domestic staff of diplomatic staff in the UK are upheld.

Alistair Burt: Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 states that, without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all diplomats 'to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State'. This includes employment laws. In August 2010, Protocol Directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a Note to all diplomatic missions reminding them of their responsibilities with regard to the employment of domestic servants. Government Departments work together and with non-governmental organisations to monitor the employment rights of domestic workers in foreign diplomatic households in the UK.

EU Law

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions the Government has objected to a proposed first reading agreement between the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers in the last 10 years; in respect of which Directives the objections were made; and what the outcome of the objection was in each case.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold this information and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.

Hezbollah

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to support the enforcement of UN Resolution 1701 in respect of disarming Hezbollah.

Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister discussed UN Security Council Resolution 1701 with Prime Minister Hariri during his recent visit to the UK, underlining the need for Hezbollah to disarm to ensure the stability of Lebanon.
	During my visit to Damascus in July, I made clear and firm representations to Foreign Minister Muallem in support of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. We are strongly committed to the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701: this is the best means of achieving stability in Lebanon. I also raised the issue of weapons smuggling in Lebanon and underlined concerns about reports of Syrian facilitation of arms to Hezbollah. My officials continue to raise these issues at the highest level during our regular dialogue with Syrian counterparts.
	The UN Security Council, under UK presidency, will be debating UN Security Council Resolution 1701 on 18 November, and will include discussions on the issue of Hezbollah arms.

International Assistance: Children

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the potential contribution of his Department's diplomatic networks to international efforts to assist street children.

Jeremy Browne: The UK is committed to improving the situation of street children internationally. We work bilaterally, in multilateral forums and through programme work to promote and protect the rights of all children as set out in the UN convention on the rights of the child.
	Globally our embassies are responsible for monitoring and raising human rights issues-including the situation of street children-in their host countries.
	For example, in South Africa, our high commission in Pretoria is working to address the problems faced by street children by supporting the work of 'Umthombo', a South African charity for street children run by former street children, and in India we continue to encourage India to ratify and implement International Labour Organisation Conventions 138 and 182 relating to child labour. In Geneva and New York, our UN Missions work to promote and protect the rights of children globally.

International Assistance: Children

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the remit is of the desk officer for Women and Children's Human Rights in his Department; and what role that officer has had in his Department's recent work on child rights and street children.

Jeremy Browne: The Desk Officer for Women and Children's Human Rights in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for developing and driving forward our policy framework on women's and children's rights internationally.
	This involves working closely with colleagues in London and in Posts to enable them to develop and deliver policies and initiatives on the rights of women and children overseas. This includes lobbying states to ensure full implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Iran: Prisoners

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the  (a) charges against and  (b) condition in detention of Ms Rozita Vseghi in Mashhad, Iran; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We have raised a wide range of human rights issues with the Iranian Government, including the persecution of members of the Baha'i community. We have asked our embassy in Tehran to express concern about Rozita Vseghi, who is reported as being detained on a charge of spreading Baha'i teachings.

Iraq: Christianity

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will have discussions with his Iraqi counterpart on protection for Christians in Iraq by Iraqi security forces  (a) in their places of worship and  (b) generally.

Alistair Burt: In the wake of the attack on the Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad on 31 October, the Iraqi Prime Minister called on the armed forces and the security forces to remain on maximum alert, and to exert maximum efforts to secure mosques, churches and all places of worship.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Wednesday 10 November and raised the issue of Christians in Iraq. Foreign Minister Zebari confirmed that the protection of minorities was the responsibility of the Iraqi Government.

Morocco: Deportation

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assistance his Department has provided to British citizens deported from Morocco to facilitate their return to that country.

Alistair Burt: We are unable to interfere in the sovereignty of another country's immigration law in order to request that British nationals be permitted to return to Morocco. However our ambassador in Rabat and officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London have raised concerns with the Moroccan authorities about a lack of due process, which Morocco has committed to provide under its international obligations. We have received assurances from them that any further cases will be dealt with in a manner consistent with international consular obligations.
	I will also use the opportunity of a visit to Morocco later this year to raise this issue with the Moroccan authorities.

Morocco: Deportation

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens were deported from Morocco in the last 18 months; how many of those contacted his Department for assistance; and how many of those who contacted his Department have since returned to Morocco.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of 16 British nationals who have been deported from Morocco in the last 18 months, all of whom have been provided with the appropriate consular assistance. There may be other British nationals who have been deported that we are not aware of. We would not be aware of the numbers who have since returned to Morocco as the entry to Morocco is a matter for the Moroccan authorities. However, it is not unusual for countries to refuse re-entry if an individual has been deported.

Morocco: Deportation

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assistance his Department has provided to British citizens deported from Morocco.

Alistair Burt: On 6 July I met a group of the British nationals expelled from Morocco to discuss their concerns, and I will raise the matter with my counterparts when I visit Morocco later this year. Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London have also met a number of those expelled. Our ambassador in Rabat and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in London have made representations to the Moroccan authorities. Consular officials from our embassy in Rabat have provided assistance to the group, including providing them with the contact details of English-speaking lawyers and helping them gain access to possessions they were forced to leave behind. We continue to monitor developments in this case closely.

Redundancy

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding to meet staff redundancy costs was identified in his Department's settlement letter in respect of the comprehensive spending review.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently working on a revised Strategic Workforce Plan to determine the level of staffing it will need to deliver departmental priorities, while remaining within resources allocated in the spending review settlement. At present it is not possible to predict the outcome of this review. We hope to achieve any necessary reductions by means of natural wastage and voluntary early retirement. If any redundancies do become necessary, the full costs will be met from within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's spending review settlement.

Turkey: EU Enlargement

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking at EU level to seek to secure progress on Turkey's application for membership of the EU.

David Lidington: Turkey's accession to the EU is a key goal for the British Government, subject to the rigorous application of the accession criteria. We believe that Turkish accession would be to the wider benefit of the UK and EU, contributing to our security and prosperity. We work closely with our EU member state counterparts and with the European Commission in order to encourage and support progress in Turkey's accession process.
	We work closely with Turkey, both bilaterally and at the EU level, to support progress in their domestic reform programme to meet the all requirements of the EU acquis. We also encourage Turkey's efforts to support the Cyprus settlement process, and call for Turkey to implement the Additional Ankara Protocol.

Western Sahara: Human Rights

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take in the UN Security Council to seek to ensure that human rights in Western Sahara are upheld; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The UK fully supports the idea of including human rights monitoring mechanisms in the territory and encourages the parties to take this forward.

Western Sahara: Human Rights

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to take steps in the UN Security Council to seek to ensure that international media and observers are allowed access to El Aauin, Western Sahara to monitor the human rights situation in that area.

Alistair Burt: The UK believes that transparency in the field of human rights is vital to building confidence between the parties. We will continue to work with other members of the Security Council and all parties to the dispute to promote this.

Western Sahara: Politics and Government

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether representatives from his Department plan to visit El Aauin, Western Sahara to assess the current political situation.

Alistair Burt: Members of our embassy in Rabat regularly visit Western Sahara; although they have no plans to visit at this time.

Western Sahara: Politics and Government

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had in the UN Security Council on the implementation of a referendum on the right to self-determination in Western Sahara.

David Lidington: The mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) was discussed and renewed for a further year in April 2010. The UK fully supports the UN process to find a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

Western Sahara: Violence

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications of the recent violence in Western Sahara for the future of negotiations to resolve the conflict.

David Lidington: We are encouraged that the scheduled talks between the parties have been able to continue. We call on all parties to continue to engage in this important process and to work together on confidence-building measures including family visits by air and road.

Western Sahara: Violence

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had in the UN Security Council on measures to prevent further deaths and violence in El Aauin, Western Sahara.

David Lidington: We remain in close touch with members of the Security Council about developments in Western Sahara, a number of whom, such as the UK, have expressed concern at the violence.

Western Sahara: Violence

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of deaths resulting from violence in Western Sahara.

David Lidington: The UK is concerned by reports of violence at the camps and in the town of Layounne and we are particularly saddened by reports of deaths. The exact circumstances are unclear but officials in Rabat and London are following the situation closely and remain in contact with the Moroccan authorities.

Zimbabwe: Politics and Government

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of trends in the political situation in Zimbabwe  (a) since 2007 and  (b) since the appointment of Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister.

Henry Bellingham: The period from 2007 to 2008 saw a resurgence of hope in the run-up to the elections of March 2008, followed by a descent into uncontrolled violence before the second round of the parliamentary elections. After Morgan Tsvangirai's decision to withdraw in order to spare Zimbabweans further suffering, Southern African Development Community-sponsored negotiations between the political parties resulted in the formation of the Inclusive Government in February 2009.
	Since then there has been significant economic progress. Inflation has reduced to single figures, goods are available, key services are restored and tax revenue is increasing. This year Zimbabwe's economy is expected to grow for the first time since 1997, with a forecast (IMF) of around 8%.
	Progress on political reform has been slower although there have been some achievements. Earlier this year we were encouraged by the appointment of the Media, Electoral and Human Rights Commissions. Progress by the Commissions has been slow in the face of intransigence from hardliners. However we welcome the issuing of newspaper licences by the Media Commission, an essential element in preparing the conditions for credible elections.
	There has been a considerable reduction in the severity and frequency of human rights abuses since the formation of the Inclusive Government. But we remain concerned about ongoing abuses, particularly around the rule of law and the hardliners' continued exploitation of their control of the security apparatus and judiciary for political ends. The recent constitutional reform process has shown that State actors still have a capacity for violence and intimidation.
	Persistent intransigence from hardliners, including the recent unilateral appointments made by President Mugabe, led Prime Minister Tsvangirai to declare a 'constitutional crisis' last month. We share Prime Minister Tsvangirai's frustration and support him in his determination to remain in the Government. In the absence of a roadmap to credible and properly monitored elections, the Inclusive Government continues to offer the only credible means of transforming Zimbabwe and of delivering basic services to its people. But to succeed, it needs a clear commitment from all parties to work together to implement the reforms set out in the Global Political Agreement.
	We will continue to engage with our international partners, including South Africa, in considering how best to work with reformers in Zimbabwe and the region, to improve prospects of reform and to prepare for credible and properly monitored elections.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Servants: Per Capita Costs

Robert Halfon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate has he made of the average cost to the public purse of a day worked by a civil servant.

Nick Hurd: The average paybill cost (including employer pension and national insurance contributions) per full-time equivalent per working day is estimated to be approximately £150 as at end of June 2010. The Cabinet Office does not hold information on other costs of employing a member of staff such as accommodation, heating and electricity costs.

Civil Service Live Conference

Robert Halfon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  whether his Department has undertaken a recent value for money assessment of its participation in the Civil Service Live event;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with  (a) Ministerial colleagues,  (b) senior civil servants and  (c) others, on the future of the Civil Service Live event;
	(3)  what role Civil Service Live plays in his Department's most recent business plan;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the proposed Civil Service Live event in July 2011;
	(5)  what recent assessment he has made of the benefits to the public of the Civil Service Live event in each year since its inception;
	(6)  what plans he has for the future of his Department's support for the Civil Service Live event; and what budget he plans to allocate to it in each of the next three years;
	(7)  what estimate he has made of the travel and accommodation expenses paid from the public purse in respect of the Civil Service Live event in each year since its inception;
	(8)  what speakers there have been at each Civil Service Live event since its inception; and how much was paid in fees and expenses to such speakers in respect of each such event;
	(9)  how many external consultancies or contractors his Department has engaged in connection with the Civil Service Live event in each year since its inception; and what the  (a) average and  (b) highest daily rate of pay in this period was in each such year;
	(10)  how much income his Department has received from  (a) private advertising and  (b) other non-Government sources in respect of the Civil Service Live event in each year since its inception; and how much it expects to receive from such sources in respect of the 2011 event;
	(11)  how many civil servants in his Department worked  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time in producing the Civil Service Live event in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(12)  how much his Department spent on marketing and communications in respect of the Civil Service Live event in each year since its inception;
	(13)  what the cost to the public purse of the Civil Service Live event has been in each year since its inception;
	(14)  how much his Department has paid  (a) Dods and  (b) other third parties to organise and host the Civil Service Live event in each year since its inception;
	(15)  what information his Department holds on the number of people who have attended each Civil Service Live event since its inception.

Nick Hurd: Civil Service Live events are owned and managed by Dods (the publisher of Civil Service World). I have not had any recent discussions with ministerial colleagues or senior civil servants on the future of these events. The Cabinet Office has no plans to allocate any budget to Civil Service Live in each of the next three years and Civil Service Live does not feature in our business plan. The Cabinet Office has never paid Dods, or any other third party, to organise or host the events since their inception and neither has it received any income from private advertising or other non-Government sources in respect of these events. A small number of staff from the Cabinet Office supported particular elements of the events, such as workforce diversity and digital engagement, which were used to share experiences and highlight good practice.
	With regard to costs, attendee numbers and benefits of Civil Service Live events, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 21 July 2010,  Official Report, column 375W.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Liam Byrne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many civil servants his Department has employed on short-term contracts of each duration since May 2010;
	(2)  what rules and procedures have been in place in respect to the awarding of short-term contracts to civil servants employed in his Department since May 2010;
	(3)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the advice he has received on the awarding of short-term contracts for staff employed in his Department since his appointment;
	(4)  whether the Cabinet Secretary has approved the awarding of each short-term contract in respect of staff employed by his Department since May 2010.

Nick Hurd: I refer the right hon. Member to the letter from Sir Gus O'Donnell to the hon. Member for Barnsley East (Michael Dugher) dated 10 November 2010. A copy of the letter is available in the House of Commons Library.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress he has made in extending the apprenticeship scheme.

John Hayes: We are firmly committed to boosting the supply of apprenticeships, in particular at Level 3 and above, which is why one of this Government's first actions was to announce an additional 50,000 adult places for the 2010-11 financial year. This will take the total starts for apprentices of all ages to well over 300,000 this year. For future years we are increasing annual funding for adult apprenticeships by up to £250 million before the end of the spending review period. Therefore by 2014-15, this Government will have in place sufficient funding for 75,000 more adult apprenticeships places than were provided under the previous Government.
	In this current public expenditure climate we must realise that expanding and improving the apprenticeship programme depends in no small measure on our ability to persuade a larger and more diverse range of businesses to employ apprentices. We are therefore reducing bureaucracy and making the system simpler for employers and are considering how we might better support employers through improved funding arrangements. Just this month, we joined forces with business leaders and the National Apprenticeships Service (NAS) to launch a new campaign to urge more employers to take on apprenticeships. Our future plans for apprenticeships will be set out in more detail in our skills strategy which we will publish shortly.

Apprentices

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what mechanism his Department uses for the distribution of funding for adult apprenticeships between the regions.

John Hayes: The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) operates a national system to fund post-19 further education and training, there are no regional allocations. Funding allocations to colleges and providers reflect the pattern of employer demand and funding is moved in year to reflect local need.

Apprentices: Females

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent estimate is of the number of women enrolled on apprenticeships of each  (a) type and  (b) salary band in (i) the UK, (ii) the west midlands and (iii) Walsall South constituency.

John Hayes: The following table shows the number of female apprenticeship starts by level for Walsall South constituency, west midlands region and England for 2008/09, the latest year for which full year data are available.
	
		
			  Female apprenticeship starts by level and geography, 2008/09 
			   Apprenticeship (level 2)  Advanced apprenticeship (level 3)  Total 
			 Walsall South parliamentary constituency 180 60 240 
			 West midlands region 10,100 5,400 15,500 
			 England 80,300 38,900 119,300 
			  Notes: 1. Figures for west midlands region and England are rounded to the nearest hundred. Figures for Walsall South parliamentary constituency are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures for advanced apprenticeships include a small number of higher level apprenticeships. 3. Figures are based upon the home postcode of the learner and on constituency boundaries which came in to effect in May 2010. 4. The figure for England contains a small number of apprenticeship starts where the postcode of the learner is outside England or where the postcode is not known.  Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on the pay of apprentices during their apprenticeship is available in a 2007 survey of apprentices' pay:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/corporate/migratedD/publications/D/DIUS_RR_08_05
	The average pay for a female apprentice was £147. Information is not available at sub-national level and is for England only.

Apprentices: Income

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the average additional lifetime earnings of those who complete an apprenticeship; when this figure was most recently calculated; and how many apprenticeships were available at that time.

John Hayes: The most recent evidence suggests that, taking into account the cost of getting the qualification, people completing an apprenticeship at level 3 will, on average, earn around an additional £105,000 over their lifetime, compared to those with a level 2 qualification. Individuals completing an apprenticeship at level 2 will earn around an additional £73,000 over their lifetime, compared to those in possession of level 1 or level 2 qualifications.
	This figure was most recently calculated in 2007, based on data up until 2005, and the full report-"A Cost Benefit Analysis of Apprenticeships and Other Vocational Qualifications"-can be accessed at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR834.pdf
	In the academic year 2006/07 there were 184,000 apprenticeship starts.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will discuss with Allpay the provision of wireless link broadband to remote rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: £530 million of funding to support broadband roll-out up to 2015 is available. Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) expects that a mixture of technological solutions including fixed, wireless and satellite will be required to meet broadband goals. BDUK would be happy to meet Allpay to discuss broadband provision. If the company gets in touch officials will arrange a meeting.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to roll out broadband availability to rural areas following the pilots in the three trial areas; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: Broadband Delivery UK is at present focused on delivering the superfast broadband pilots. It is, however, also progressing with the design of a process for the wider deployment of broadband across the UK, once the pilots have commenced.

Business: Government Assistance

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to attract and retain global businesses within the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Business's decisions to invest and remain in the UK are complex. The Government are committed to promoting growth by tackling the deficit, rebalancing the economy and creating the right conditions to support a private sector-led recovery. This includes:
	Clear direction and certainty on deficit reduction.
	Creating a tax regime that is the most competitive corporate tax system in the G20.
	Creating the Office of Tax Simplification to provide the Government with independent advice on simplifying the UK tax system and improving our international competitiveness.
	Getting the regulatory framework right and from 1 September, the groundbreaking new One-in, One-out system began.
	Maintaining business investment by ensuring that our legal and institutional frameworks are fair, efficient and transparent and provide the necessary certainty for firms to conduct their business with confidence.
	A reduction in the small business profits rate and the waiver for national insurance contributions for new businesses in most areas of the country.
	Tackling real and perceived barriers faced by people wanting to start and grow a business including improving access to finance.
	A key deliverer of the Government's drive to encourage foreign investment is UK Trade and Investment, the UK's national trade and investment promotion agency. UKTI leads on attracting high-quality, high-value investment to the UK.
	Further details can be found in "A Strategy for Sustainable Growth" published in July 2010,
	http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/comment/growth/
	Other recent action to support these goals includes:
	Creating high-quality transport infrastructure-over £10 billion over the spending review to provide new road schemes and to maintain existing roads; fully funding Crossrail and supporting improvements to the London Underground network; and £14 billion for rail improvements.
	Investment in areas where public capital can generate returns-rolling out superfast broadband access across the country; a regional growth fund of £1.4 billion to support investment in infrastructure to promote growth; and investing £1 billion with additional significant proceeds from the sale of Government-owned assets to provide incentives for investment in the low-carbon economy through the Green Investment Bank; and
	Delivering outcomes which support growth, skills and research-including £250 million extra funding compared to the previous Government for new adult apprenticeships; and maintaining the science budget in cash terms over the spending review.

Copyright Tribunal

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish all correspondence between his Department and the  (a) Copyright Tribunal and  (b) Tribunals Service since his appointment; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: holding answer 4 November 2010
	There is no correspondence that we can trace between BIS, as a Department of State, and the Copyright Tribunal as an entity in its own right. Over the period in question there has been no correspondence between BIS and the chairman or the members of the tribunal. There is however correspondence between the tribunal secretary, who is an employee of the IPO-an executive agency of BIS-and the chairman and members. Most of this relates to individual cases, but I am putting the remaining correspondence in the Libraries of the House.
	Correspondence between the Department and the Tribunal Service is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Manpower

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many members of staff were employed in the ministerial correspondence unit of his Department in the last two years.

Edward Davey: There are currently 36 people employed in the ministerial correspondence unit at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Depression: Sick Leave

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of  (a) the average annual number of working days lost each year because of depression and  (b) consequent cost to the economy.

Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply.
	While not having the specific figures for depression the Department for Work and Pensions estimates that around 60 million working days may be lost each year as a result of mental health conditions in general. The cost of this to the economy we estimate to be in the range of £2 billion to £4 billion.
	We also support managers to help employees maintain mental health and well-being at work, for example the Health and Safety Executive's Management Standards and the Health Work and Well-being Co-ordinator network. There is also support available to managers who have employees who are in work and struggling or off sick-for example employment support in psychological therapy services and an occupational health advice line for small businesses. DWP also provide advice and funds for workplace adaptations for disabled people through the Access to Work programme.
	For people with mental health conditions on benefits, there is support available from all DWP's employment programmes through both mainstream and specialist services. Jobcentre Plus advisers also have access to Disability Employment Advisers and Work Psychologists, and each Jobcentre Plus district has a mental health co-ordinator function, which develops practical links between mental health and employment services and provides intelligence to advisers.

Employee Benefit Trusts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department provides guidance to businesses on establishing employee share ownership schemes.

Edward Davey: A range of guidance on employee share ownership schemes is available on:
	www.businesslink.gov.uk
	the Government's free online business advice and support service.
	In addition, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) provides a range of training services for businesses, including assistance in understanding and developing appropriate pay and reward systems such as employee share ownership schemes.

Financial Inclusion Fund

Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for his Department's support for the Financial Inclusion Fund after 31 March 2011.

Edward Davey: The Financial Inclusion Fund is funded by HM Treasury. This Department's interest is in relation to the administration and management of the Face to Face debt advice project, funded from the Financial Inclusion Fund.
	The Government are actively considering, with industry, the most effective strategy for providing debt advice. At a time of significant fiscal pressure it is obviously important to ensure that future support is properly targeted and achieves value for taxpayers' money. Decisions on the future funding of debt advice will be taken as the implications of the spending review are worked through.

Fireworks

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  if he will bring forward legislative proposals to increase the maximum penalty which may be imposed on those who misuse fireworks;
	(2)  if he will bring forward proposals to introduce minimum pricing for fireworks;
	(3)  if he will bring forward proposals to prohibit the sale of fireworks to the public;
	(4)  if he will bring forward proposals to increase the maximum penalty which may be imposed for offences related to the sale of fireworks to minors.

Edward Davey: There are no plans to revise the legislation relevant to the sale and use of fireworks.

Higher Education: Finance

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the future of  (a) reserves and  (b) capital projects in higher education institutions funded from the public purse following his proposed changes to funding arrangements for higher education.

John Hayes: Higher education institutions are autonomous institutions and it is for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to monitor their financial health and sustainability to protect the public investment in higher education. Since the changes to student finance in 2006, HEIs have benefitted from additional income of £1.3 billion and the financial health of higher education institutions has improved, including levels of liquidity. The public capital investment fund we will have available will be sufficient to meet existing contractual and legal liabilities. We will announce the precise level of funding including teaching grant and capital funding for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in its annual grant letter in December.

Higher Education: Wimbledon

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of school leavers in Wimbledon constituency in  (a) 2005,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2010 who did not subsequently enter higher education.

John Hayes: Figures relating to the proportion of young people resident in Wimbledon parliamentary constituency who did not subsequently enter higher education (HE) are not available. As an alternative, the available information on the number of 15-years-olds from maintained schools in Merton local authority who did not progress to HE by age 19 is shown in the table. The figures will include some young persons who enter higher education at a later age.
	
		
			  Estimates of the number of 15 -year- olds in 2001/02, 2002/03 and 2003/04 from maintained schools in Merton local authority area who did not progress to HE( 1)  by age 19 in 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 
			  Academic year  Number not progressing to HE by age 19 
			 2005/06 1,125 
			 2006/07 1,065 
			 2007/08 1,115 
			 (1) Includes those who progress to higher education courses at English further education colleges.  Notes: Figures are rounded to the nearest five pupils. The estimated number of 15 years in maintained schools in Merton local authority area was 1585 in 2001-02, 1585 in 2002-03 and 1600 in 2003-4  Source:  Matched data from the National Pupil Database, the Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record and the Individualised Learner Record.

Innovation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what locations  (a) have been identified and  (b) are being considered as locations for his proposed innovation centres;
	(2)  what plans he has to consult  (a) universities and  (b) businesses on the location of his proposed new innovation centres.

John Hayes: The network of technology and innovation centres will be established and overseen by the Technology Strategy Board and will comprise existing regional development agency-funded centres which are excellent and a limited number of new centres. The choice of location for the new centres will pay due consideration to the location of critical mass of research expertise, and business capability without which we inhibit the exchange of know-how and tacit knowledge, as well as the development of active collaborations, which are facilitated by co-location.
	The Technology Strategy Board will now work with industry, universities, stakeholders, and wider government to identify the priority areas, the scale of investment required and governance structure for the elite network of technology and innovation centres by April 2011.

Insolvency

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assistance is available to employees of companies that have ceased trading but have not registered as insolvent for the purpose of recouping unpaid wages and redundancy moneys.

Edward Davey: Under the insolvency provisions contained in the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Redundancy Payments Service of the Insolvency Service (an Executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) can make payment of unpaid wages from the National Insurance Fund (within statutory limits) to employees but only if the employer is legally insolvent as defined under the 1996 Act. Essentially, if the employer is a company, that means the company is in liquidation, administration or has entered into a company voluntary arrangement. If the company is not legally insolvent, employees can seek to recover the wages they are owed through the courts and they can ultimately petition the court to have the company wound up (liquidated), which would enable them to make a claim on the National Insurance Fund.
	There are separate provisions under the 1996 Act in respect of statutory redundancy payments which enable the Redundancy Payments Service to make payment of redundancy payments to employees if either the employer is legally insolvent or the employee has obtained an award of a redundancy payment from an employment tribunal and the employer has failed to make that payment to the employee. Once a payment is made from the National Insurance Fund, the Redundancy Payments Service will seek to recover that payment from the employer, whenever possible.
	There are no plans to extend the statutory scheme of payments beyond its present limits as this would encourage solvent employers to avoid their responsibilities in respect of wages. The Redundancy Payments Service would also not be in a position to seek to recoup payments by means of a claim against the employer's assets, as it can in insolvency proceedings, and such a change could add significantly to public expenditure.

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department and its predecessors spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in each of the last 10 years.

Edward Davey: The Department, and its predecessors, have made the following payments to the Institute for Fiscal Studies:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005/6 6,879 
			 2006/7 32,539 
			 2007/8 23,410 
			 2008/9 38,603 
			 2009/10 44,945 
			 2010/11 103,885 
		
	
	Information for the 2004/5 financial year and earlier can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Local Enterprise Partnerships Advisory Panel: Pay

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what remuneration members of the Local Enterprise Partnerships Advisory Panel will receive.

Mark Prisk: I think that your question refers to the advisory panel set up for the regional growth fund, as there is no such panel for Local Enterprise Partnerships.
	I can confirm that none of the panel members will receive any remuneration.

Motor Vehicles: Qualifications

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will ensure that the awarding body Edexcel places the qualifications for the BTEC First Diploma and BTEC National Award in Vehicle Technology (Motorsport) on to the Qualifications and Curriculum Framework.

John Hayes: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 11 November 2010,  Official Report, column 483W. The two BTEC qualifications in Vehicle Technology for the Motorsports industry from Edexcel are due to be available on the Qualifications and Credit Framework by the end of this year.

Multinational Companies: Accountancy

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the introduction of a new international accounting standard on country-by-country reporting of profits made and taxes paid by multinational companies.

Edward Davey: I have not had any recent discussions with my international counterparts on the introduction of a new international accounting standard on country-by-country reporting of profits made and taxes paid by multinational companies.

Overseas Trade: USA

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase trade between the UK and the United States.

Mark Prisk: The US is the UK's largest single export market for goods and services, worth nearly £67 billion to UK exporters in 2009, or more than 17% of the UK's total exports to the world.
	Through UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), we employ 124 staff, in eight major cities across the US, covering the whole of the country.
	Since April this year, our teams have helped over 1,420 British companies in the United States, with support including market research, introductions, promotional events and advice and help with market access. Our teams in-country, and around the UK have also held over 80 US focused events for UK firms-primarily small and medium sized companies. During the rest of this financial year we will support another 16 trade missions to the US, in important industry sectors including information and communications technology (ICT) and life sciences.
	Additionally, this Department manages the "US Marketing Scholarships Programme", jointly sponsored by the Ellis Goodman Foundation, British Airways and UKTI. This offers British companies the opportunity to attend a one-week marketing course at a Chicago Business School followed by a placement with a US company. To date, this programme has helped over 300 UK companies to develop and refine their marketing strategy for the US market.

Overseas Trade: USA

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions there have been between Ministers and officials in his Department and governors, trade associations and industry representatives of constituent states in the United States; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and my noble Friend Lord Brittan have both recently met senior representatives from the US Chamber of Commerce-including the CEO and Senior Vice-President.
	My right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities and Science (Mr Willetts) took part in a video link to the UK-US Higher Education Policy Dialogue meeting, which included representatives from the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and the American Council on Education.
	The chief executive of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and other senior UKTI officials have recently met representatives from the organisation British American Business, including the CEO, to discuss ways in which his organisation and UKTI can work together to support UK/US bilateral trade. Officials from UKTI have also recently met the Director of Invest in America, and the Governor of Virginia.
	The Mayor of Atlanta will be visiting the UK later this month. His programme includes discussions with UK companies and UKTI officials.

Public Expenditure

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has established processes to monitor any effects of proposed reductions in its expenditure.

Edward Davey: BIS has well established processes for analysing, monitoring and evaluating the impact of its programme. These will continue to be utilised and we will work closely with delivery partners to monitor the effects of the reductions in spending and implementation of policy reforms.

Royal Mail

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with Royal Mail on plans to review supplier payment terms.

Edward Davey: Royal Mail's procurement activities are a matter for the company. The decision to review its current contracts with suppliers was taken by the company as part of its drive to reduce its costs in the face of falling volumes of letters which have impacted on the company's revenues.
	This Department receives regular updates from Royal Mail on its cost reduction activities.

Royal Mail

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with Royal Mail on the sale of assets.

Edward Davey: Generally, decisions on the sale of assets are for Royal Mail provided that they do not impact on the security that backs the debt facilities Government have made available to the company. However, there are also restrictions in the Articles of Association that prevent the sale of significant assets without the Government's consent as Special Shareholder.
	This Department receives regular updates on the proposed sale of assets made by Royal Mail.

Royal Mail

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with Royal Mail on the sale and leaseback of its property portfolio.

Edward Davey: The management of Royal Mail's property portfolio is a matter for the company. This Department, however, receives updates about Royal Mail's activities in this area on a regular basis.
	There are limits on what the company can do with its property because the majority of it acts as security for the debt facilities that Government have made available to Royal Mail.

Space Technology

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to support the space industry.

John Hayes: This Department funds a range of European Space Agency programmes in space science and exploration, Earth science, telecommunications, navigation and technology. In addition, we support industry in export bids. This work is co-ordinated by the UK Space Agency which will be established as a full Executive agency of BIS from April 2011. The Department is also working closely with the space industry on the implementation of the Innovation Growth Team Strategy.

Speech Therapy: Training

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on the number of places available on speech therapy courses at each college in  (a) London,  (b) Essex and  (c) Hertfordshire.

John Hayes: The following table shows the number of further education enrolments on speech therapy courses in London, Essex and Hertfordshire in 2008/09, the latest year for which full year data are available.
	
		
			  Further education enrolments on speech therapy courses by geography in 2008/09 
			   London region  Essex local authority  Hertfordshire local authority 
			 Speech therapy 190 10 10 
			 Speech workshops 30 - - 
			  Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. '-' Indicates a base value of less than five. 3. Government office region and local authority are based upon the home postcode of the learner.  Source: Individualised Learner Record

Tourism

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department provides to businesses who wish to form regional advocacy bodies for the tourist industry.

John Penrose: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government will place a strong emphasis on leadership by local tourism interests, in particular, local tourism businesses. This was set out in the White Paper "Local Growth: realising every place's potential" which was presented to Parliament on 28 October 2010.
	Further details of the Government's position will be made available in a forthcoming tourism strategy paper, which we hope to launch in the new year.

Unemployment: Young People

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many young people were recorded as not in education, employment or training in  (a) the UK,  (b) the north-east and  (c) Redcar constituency in each of the last five years.

John Hayes: Due to differences in the way separate UK countries define and measure the number of people not in education, employment and training we are unable to produce an estimate for the UK as a whole.
	The number of young people not in education, employment or training in England is published by Department for Education (DfE) every quarter. The latest information can be found here and provides estimates for people aged(1)( )16-24, 18-24 and 19-24 years old.
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000950/NEETQB2_2010.pdf
	The supplementary tables providing a regional breakdown of young people who are NEET is available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000950/index.shtml
	The following table provides estimates of the number and proportion of people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the Redcar and Cleveland local authority in each year from 2004 to 2009.
	(1) Age refers to academic age, which is defined as the age of the respondent at the preceding 31 August. Therefore those aged 16 and above will have completed compulsory full-time education.
	
		
			  People aged 16-24 years-old not in education, employment or training (NEET) in Redcar and Cleveland local authority 
			   Number NEET  Percentage NEET  of all 16-24 year olds in Redcar and Cleveland  95% Confidence  i nterval 
			 2004 2,000 17 +/- 1,000 
			 2005 3,000 18 +/- 1,000 
			 2006 3,000 17 +/- 1,000 
			 2007 3,000 19 +/- 1,000 
			 2008 4,000 28 +/- 1,000 
			 2009 5,000 27 +/- 1,000 
		
	
	This information is from the Annual Population Survey, which covers the period January to December of each year, with 2009 being the most recent estimate available. The Annual Population Survey is the only available source of data with a sample large enough to provide local authority estimates of the number of young people up to the age of 24 who are NEET. However, the sample is not large enough to provide estimates for smaller geographies, such as parliamentary constituencies, or to provide local authority estimates for age ranges narrower than 16 to 24.
	It is important to note that these estimates are subject to large sampling variability and should therefore be treated with caution and viewed in conjunction with their Confidence Intervals, which indicate how accurate an estimate is. For example, a Confidence Interval of +/-1,000 means that the true value is between 1,000 above the estimate and 1,000 below the estimate.

Unemployment: Young People

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many young people were recorded as not in education, employment or training  (a) nationally,  (b) in the north-west and  (c) in Rossendale and Darwen constituency in each of the last 13 years.

John Hayes: The number of young people not in education, employment or training in England is published by Department for Education (DfE) every quarter. The latest information can be found at the following link and provides estimates for people aged(1) 16 to 24, 18 to 24 and 19 to 24-years-old:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000950/NEETQB2_2010.pdf
	The supplementary tables providing a regional breakdown of young people NEET are available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000950/index.shtml
	The following table provides estimates of the number and proportion of people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) in Blackburn with Darwen local authority in each year from 2000 to 2009.
	(1) Age refers to academic age, which is defined as the age of the respondent at the preceding 31 August. Therefore those aged 16 and above will have completed compulsory full-time education.
	
		
			  People aged 16 to 24-years-old not in education, employment or training (NEET) in Blackburn with Darwen local authority 
			   Number NEET  Percentage of all 16 to 24-year-olds NEET in Blackburn and Darwen  95% confidence interval 
			 2000 4,000 20 +/-1,000 
			 2001 4,000 20 +/-1,000 
			 2002 3,000 19 +/-1,000 
			 2003 3,000 15 +/-1,000 
			 2004 3,000 21 +/-1,000 
			 2005 4,000 21 +/- 1,000 
			 2006 3,000 19 +/- 1,000 
			 2007 3,000 21 +/- 1,000 
			 2008 2,000 16 +/- 1,000 
			 2009 3,000 19 +/- 1,000 
		
	
	This information is from the Annual Population Survey, which covers the period January to December of each year, with 2009 being the most recent estimate available. The Annual Population Survey is the only available source of data with a sample large enough to provide local authority estimates of the number of young people up to the age of 24 who are NEET. However, the sample is not large enough to provide estimates for smaller geographies, such as parliamentary constituencies, or to provide local authority estimates for age ranges narrower than 16 to 24.
	It is important to note that these estimates are subject to large sampling variability and should therefore be treated with caution and viewed in conjunction with their confidence intervals, which indicate how accurate an estimate is. For example, a confidence interval of +/- 1,000 means that the true value is between 1,000 above the estimate and 1,000 below the estimate.
	Due to incomplete data, estimates for people not in education, employment and training are not available prior to 2000.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Amateur Swimming Association: Finance

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much funding his Department has provided to the Amateur Swimming Association in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: As the national governing body for swimming, the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) received the following funding from Sport England between 2008 and 2010.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Whole Sport Plan (Lottery) 1,709,998 3,333,472 3,144, 527 
			 Whole Sport Plan (Exchequer) 200,000 1,452,095 1,568,873 
			 Club Links (Exchequer) 356,500 - - 
			 EIS Facility Funding (Lottery) 100,000 - - 
			 Step into Sport (Exchequer) 25,000 - - 
			 Total 2,391,498 4,785,567 4,713,400 
		
	
	This Department also gave the ASA £0.17 million in 2008-09, £5.8 million in 2009-10 and £2.7 million in 2010/11 for the recruitment of a network of county swimming co-ordinators and to provide free swimming lessons as part of the Free Swimming Programme that ran between April 2009 and July 2010.

Broadband: DCMS

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department plans to carry out a comprehensive mapping of Scotland's fibre infrastructure.

Edward Vaizey: I have been asked to reply 
	in my capacity as a Minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	This Department has made no such assessment. The Digital Economy Act 2010, which came into force in June of this year, gives Ofcom a new duty to report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) every three years on the UK's communications infrastructure. Ofcom has consulted on the scope of the first report which is due for publication in 2011. In addition, BIS is currently consulting on changes to the EU framework directive (Directive 2002/21/EC), specifically article 12(4) which allows for national authorities, including national regulatory authorities, to request information from companies to provide a detailed picture of the infrastructure in a member state.

Broadband: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what support his Department intends to provide to Milton Keynes council to address gaps in broadband provision in Milton Keynes;
	(2)  what progress he has made on developing a broadband strategy for Milton Keynes.

Edward Vaizey: £530 million has been allocated in the spending review to support broadband roll-out throughout the UK up till 2015. No specific plans have been made for Milton Keynes or any other constituency although the Government have also announced the locations of four super-fast broadband pilot projects. A national broadband strategy will be published before the end of the year.

Crosby Hall: Repairs and Maintenance

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions  (a) he,  (b) Ministers in his Department and  (c) officials in his Department have had on public funding for the restoration of Crosby Hall since 11 May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

John Penrose: No discussions with the Secretary of State, Ministers or officials from this Department have been held on public funding for the restoration of Crosby Hall since 11 May.

National Heritage Memorial Fund

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what consideration he has given to reviewing the composition of the  (a) board of trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and  (b) regional and national grant assessment teams; and whether he has any plans to appoint new trustees and new members of the teams.

John Penrose: There are three forthcoming appointments to the Board of the National Heritage Memorial and Heritage Lottery Fund. Two of these will be advertised imminently and represent an opportunity to broaden knowledge of the heritage of the regions of England, further enhance expertise in the historic environment, and build on the board's understanding of how diverse communities can be engaged with heritage and culture. In addition, there will be a need for a new Trustee for Scotland when the incumbent stands down in March.
	Members of the Heritage Lottery Fund's regional and country committees are appointed by the chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund. Applications have recently closed for chairs of the committees in the north-east, north-west and Yorkshire and Humber. Further opportunities across the regions of England, and in Northern Ireland and Scotland, will arise in the next 18 months, and will be publicised during 2011.

Newspaper Press

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2010,  Official Report, column 886W, on newspaper press, what constitutes a formal meeting; and whether his Department holds records of other meetings.

John Penrose: This Department holds no record of other meetings with Rebekah Brooks, James Murdoch or representatives of News International. Any meeting on official departmental business would normally be considered formal.

Public Houses: North West

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many public houses have closed in  (a) Bury North constituency and  (b) the north-west since July 2007.

James Brokenshire: I have been asked to reply.
	Data on the number of licenses surrendered, lapsed, revoked, forfeited, suspended or withdrawn in the north-west region over the last four years are set out in tables which will be placed in the House Libraries. The data are not available broken down to constituency level.

Sports: Training

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent representations he has received on the participation in commercial training activities of national sports governing bodies funded by his Department.

Hugh Robertson: The Department has not received any recent representations about national sports governing bodies participating in commercial training activities.

UK Sport: Personnel

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many employees of UK Sport will be responsible for the promotion of  (a) elite and  (b) grassroots sport following its merger with Sport England;
	(2)  what functions of UK Sport and Sport England are to be merged;
	(3)  what mechanisms UK Sport will have in place to promote the interests of elite athletes in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland,  (c) Wales and  (d) Northern Ireland following its merger with Sport England;
	(4)  whether UK Sport will have separate budgets for the promotion of  (a) elite and  (b) grassroots sport following its merger with Sport England; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what the organisational structure of UK Sport will be following its merger with Sport England; and what elements of the structure will have responsibility for  (a) elite and  (b) grassroots sport;
	(6)  what plans he has for the composition of the boards of  (a) UK Sport and  (b) Sport England following their merger;
	(7)  whether he expects any redundancies to result from the merger between UK Sport and Sport England;
	(8)  what arrangements UK Sport plans to make following its merger with Sport England to promote the interests of elite athletes in the Isle of Man who compete as UK athletes in international events.

Hugh Robertson: The Government intend to merge UK Sport and Sport England into a single non-departmental body. We expect the merger to take effect in April 2013. The new body will incorporate the current functions of both UK Sport and Sport England, although we intend for there to be separate divisions for UK elite sport and English community sport, with distinct funding streams.
	The new body will create a more unified, coherent and cost-effective structure for sport in the UK, bringing the bodies together in one location, maximising administrative efficiencies, and working in partnership with the Home Country Sports Councils. Sport England and UK Sport are already working closely together to plan for the merger and to identify administrative efficiencies in the light of the spending review settlement.
	The new body will represent the interests of elite athletes across the UK. Athletes from the Isle of Man who compete as UK athletes will continue to be able to access world class performance funding, providing that they meet the required performance criteria.
	We are currently finalising the governance arrangements for the merger project with UK Sport and Sport England, before we take final decisions on detailed issues such as the composition of the board or the precise organisational structure of the new body and potential implications for current employees. We are also working closely with our counterparts in the devolved Administrations.
	We are intending to hold a Sports Cabinet, involving all of these parties, early in the new year.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Interns

Luciana Berger: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many interns his Office has employed on a  (a) unpaid,  (b) expenses only and  (c) minimum wage or above basis since May 2010.

Nicholas Clegg: There have been no interns employed in the Deputy Prime Minister's Office since May 2010.

Voting Rights: Prisoners

Priti Patel: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer by the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 2 November 2010,  Official Report, column 772 on prisoners' right to vote, when he expects to announce the steps he plans to take to implement the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights.

Mark Harper: Ministers are considering how to implement the Hirst (No.2) judgment and will inform the House once a decision has been made. As I indicated to the House, the Government accept, as did the previous Government, that as a result of the judgment of the Strasbourg Court in the Hirst case, there is a need to change the law. This is not a choice; it is a legal obligation.